The Eternal Days
by SomeStoriesDeserveToBeTold
Summary: This is a story that is unlike anything you've ever seen before. Prepare to experience a world where Pokemon can talk, think, and live like humans can. Except, there are no humans. Follow the life of a few select Pokemon as they try to survive in a world of Pokemon that is rapidly falling apart. There will be war, love, hate, fear, and life. Rated T for violence and language.
1. Eviction: 1

(Hello fans of Pokémon. You can call me SomeStoriesDeserveToBeTold, or just SomeStories. Either way, I am a new writer of Pokémon fanfics, and this is my first one. I intend to make this a long story that includes many chapters, not just a lame piece of garbage. I think you're going to love this story because it is not just quickly thrown together or pumped out. I put a lot of time into writing and rewriting this story, and anyone who knows me would know that I never post anything until I think it is as good as it can be. This story is something unlike what most people post, because it is slightly more mature, and it deals with serious concepts. This does not mean it is going to be boring! I hate boring stories and I would rather die than write a boring story about something as amazing as Pokémon. I got my love for Pokémon when I was only about six years old. I picked up a copy of Pokémon Gold for the Gameboy color, and haven't put it down since. Now I am sixteen years old, and I am still proudly chugging away at Pokémon White 2. I hope you enjoy this story, because it was written for true Pokémon enthusiasts, by a true Pokémon enthusiast. PS, I know it's a little long for chapter one, but hey, I'm just trying to be thorough. Now, Enjoy!)

**Foreword:** What if your entire world was torn apart? Would you sit by and do what others think you should do, or would you trust your own instincts? This is a situation most people never have to put themselves in, and thus never give most thought to. That's where The Eternal Days comes in. This story will make you rethink the way you look at your life, and maybe even your morals. By reading the unbelievable and heart-wrenching story ahead, you might change your perspective of Pokémon forever. For years and years Pokémon has been treated like a little child's game, when in reality it has the potential for SO MUCH MORE. Just imagine the stories these magnificent creatures could tell. Just imagine how greatly literature could be improved if Pokémon played a role in them. Well, if you read this story, you won't have to imagine that anymore, because it will be shown to you. Prepare to see Pokémon in a way that they've never been before.

**Prologue:** Imagine a world of entirely Pokémon. Human beings have never been heard of in this world, and it has caused drastic changes to occur. Pokémon have grown over time to form their own communities, their own languages, and their own traditions. It has even gotten to the point where each of the seventeen types of Pokémon have formed their own countries, complete with borders, capitols, and leaders. All of the types have their own countries that is, except for the dragon type, the flying type, and the normal type. Pokémon of these types are divided up amongst the other 14 countries evenly. Pokémon with two types cannot belong to two countries and thus the author has chosen a country for every Pokémon with two types that suits them. Then, just to make matters more interesting, certain Pokémon have no affiliation with any country at all. Anyway, these countries lived in peace for a very short amount of time before tragedy struck. It was some years ago that two great legendary Pokémon who had a strong grudge began fighting. This fight started out as a petty quarrel, but soon other Pokémon began to take sides. For one year, known as the Year of Decay in folklore, these two legends amassed enormous groups of followers, and even convinced whole countries to join them. By the end of the Year of Decay, a full-fledged war had begun. The two main opponents of this war were the fire types and the water types, who were also the first two countries to join in the conflict at the start of the Year of Decay. For seven straight years, known in folklore as The Eternal Days, These Pokémon have fought furiously against one another, killing hundreds and ravaging the Earth in their wake. This story begins towards the beginning of the seventh year of The Eternal Days, during one of the fire forces greatest attacks. The location they are attacking is not the water types however, but the Grass types, who were the third country to join the war, and on the side of the water types. For the entire duration of the Eternal Days so far, these grass types have been ruthlessly besieged by the fire types, and it appears as though the fire types have finally gotten the upper hand. So we join the struggle now at the defining moment of this attack; the assault on the capitol.

**Book One: Eviction**

**Chapter One**

The fire looked almost peaceful. It was just a small amount, not enough to burn anything seriously, but just enough to give off the slight hues of gold that once were known to come with fire. It was remarkable how a symbol such as this, now known as the harbinger of death, could look so sweet and elegant. Back long ago, he remembered how fire symbolized life, and all the energy the world had to offer. Oh, how he would gather round glowing embers as a child and watch them slowly burn out before he would be called home along with his kin. How he would lie and say he was on his way, but really wait until he was absolutely sure that the fire had finished itself off. At times like this it puzzled him why he was not born of fire himself, for he thought he could relate to it so much better than grass. Regardless, he was not unhappy with his form. He enjoyed being of the grass, with its delicate cycles and lush possibilities. His society used to tell him that it was grass, not fire that was the element of life energy. He remembers hearing them say; "Fire is nothing but destruction and aggression! It is all consuming and it will only hurt you! Playing by embers is a recreation completely unfit for a young grass type like yourself! Now go out and be with your friends." It was interesting how even before the war broke out, people hated fire. Of course, he was too young to understand it at the time, but this must have meant tensions were high long before the conflict erupted. He wondered just how long the war had been brewing before it began. A year? Two years? Five years? Maybe even a decade. Truth be told, he didn't know how long the world had been around for anyway, so what difference did it make? _What difference did it make…_ That was always the question that brought him back down to earth. Whenever his thoughts began to wander he would remind himself; _what difference does it make?_ After all, philosophy is no recreation for a Grovyle. Grovyles are meant to serve. And although he much preferred to quietly ponder the fire in front of him, he felt he had an obligation to put it out.

And so with the flick of one leafy arm, the fire was gone. He knelt down and looked into the ashes. _One flick of the arm? Is that truly what it takes? If one flick of the arm were all it took to extinguish the fire, then why am I even here?_ But once again, his mind was retrieved through the use of one simple question; what difference does it make. And following the sound of an explosion nearby, his mind was fully tethered to the ground, where he decided it should stay. He ran towards the sound and saw at first just a cloud of smoke. _Where is everybody? That sounded like the enemy broke through!_ And sure enough, just as the smoke began to clear, a silhouette formed.

It was a four legged beast, with a long flowing mane and a proudly raised chin. It's primary color was orange, but this Pokémon was not entirely orange. Fire emanated from its fur, and the black stripes covering its back reminded Grovyle too much of the ashes he had just created. With one mighty roar, the beast rose a clawed foot and slammed it into the ground, sounding a powerful crash as it hit the floor.

"Arcanine…" whispered the Grovyle as fear began to flood his veins.

His voice was booming. "My brothers! I have broken in! Let this hole be an entryway for the glorious fires of the world! Let this penetration spell demise for the green faced cowards that once lied safe beyond it! We shall blaze the trail!" At this point it became obvious that the Arcanine was responsible for the explosion. And that he was not quite finished yet.

"Shit!" whispered the Grovyle under his breath, _Twelve potential entry points and my section of the wall was the one he had to choose! I need help!_

Then, as if on cue, three more of Arcanine's brethren entered behind him. The first was monstrous, with a large robust midsection supported by two stocky legs. His head was sunken down and oddly curved. His head spouted flames, and from the two enormous arms on either side of him came billowing smoke. Immediately Grovyle recognized this one as Magmortar; the ravager of structure. His powerful arm cannons had been blasting away at the walls all morning, and from the smile on his face, it was evident that he was glad to finally be inside. The second seemed to look much like Arcanine did, only smaller. Instead of a wildly proud mane, this little creature stood at attention with a furry coat that seemed much more to glow than blaze. Regardless of its adorable looks, this Growlithe still possessed a ferocity in its eyes that seemed to rival even that of its larger counterpart. The last one to enter was the most interesting of all, because it seemed somewhat different from the rest. Instead of a fiery reddish color, this Pokémon sported a pure white coat. Still on all fours, this creature seemed to have the face of a delicate baby fox, only with much more maturity and intelligence. Although the face was intriguing enough, it was the nine gloriously white tails that flowed from this creature back that set it apart. It walked with all the smooth lithe of a dancer, and just from one step it could be seen that this was a female. A surprisingly attractive one, at that, added Grovyle subconsciously. The Ninetales, as Grovyle knew her to be, stepped slowly over the pile of rubble created just moments ago and slid gracefully alongside Arcanine.

"Well done my love, I must say, the scope of your flame is even more impressive than the powerful splendor you exhibit visually. I am simply captivated…" she said with a voice almost too sweet to resist. Arcanine however, was unfazed.

"I am already aware of my impressive physique my dear, as well as my power. However there are more important things to be done here, and we need to get focused on them. So save your admiration for another time Ninetales, I need it not now." As he said this he shot her no more than a sideways glance. Ninetales frowned ever so slightly, and then continued to smoothly walk her pure white paws around the rubble. If she was upset by how little attention she received, she was doing a fine job of hiding it.

"Well where the hell are they? You told me there would be Greens in here. I don't see any!" growled the Magmotar.

"Patience, my explosive friend. They will be sending reinforcements any time now." Responded Arcanine.

"Reinforcements? What are they reinforcing? There's nobody here to reinforce!" growled Magmortar again, now raising his already intimidating growl to a more guttural level.

Arcanine looked at him with a disappointed expression. "But that is where you are wrong, for in fact there is someone here. Think logically Magmortar. Would the Grass types really just leave a whole section of their wall unguarded? Of course not. They had to have left troops at several key locations along the wall, to watch for any breaches and ensure that reinforcements arrive as soon said breaches have been made. It makes sense to assume that these guards are not very large or powerful, so that the Greens would not have to waste their better troops on sentry duty. It also makes sense that the sound of our entry aroused the attention of this guard, and caused him to put out the call for help. Furthermore, this guard probably feels that it is his responsibility not to leave us alone, so he must have decided to stay and keep watch on us."

Grovyle felt his heartbeat increase tenfold as he listened to the conversation taking place in front of him. They were talking about him! Only one word came to mind; _shit!_

Arcanine continued, "And seeing as there is only one visible doorway in this room, through which we have observed nobody exit, the guard must still be in the vicinity."

Magmortar's angry expression turned to a sadistic grin as he began to scan the room for this alleged sentry. Growlithe too, showed his excitement at the news, because as soon as Arcanine mentioned a guard, his little tail began to wag. Ninetales, on the other hand, seemed generally uninterested in what Arcanine was saying, because she had already jumped one step ahead of him, and caught the eye of a tiny little Grovyle cowering in the corner nearby.

…

_SHITSHITSHITSHITSHITSHITSHITSHITSHITSHITSHITSHIT!_ Grovyle's heart stopped as he watched the beautifully white Ninetales march slowly over to where he sat. He was actually wrong about her, because while he thought that none of her was colored red, a single look into her eyes changed his mind. Unfortunately a single look was not what he was getting though, instead he was receiving a straight on stare down from those burning red eyes, and it nearly made him faint.

In a last final act of bravery, he stood up and raised his arms to a fighting stance, prepared to face the powerful menace bearing down on him. This motion attracted the eye of the other three fire types, who, after giving faint smiles of delight, began to follow in the path of the already dangerously close Ninetales.

"Stay back! All of you! I don't want trouble, but you're giving me no choice! I will defend myself if I must!" said the Grovyle, but quivering fear had caused him to stutter his words, and make them lose much of their potential intimidation factor.

"Trouble?" asked the Ninetales in a strangely sincere tone, "Who said anything about trouble? I just want to talk, honey…" And with that, her paws began to glow.

Grovyle gulped and began talking to them again. "Stop doing that!" he cried, "I'm warning you! You monsters don't stand a chance when my backup arrives!"

Ninetales smiled and opened her mouth, ready with a sarcastic comment, but was cut off by the booming voice of her lover. "My dear boy, I don't think we need to worry about backup. If anyone here should be worrying about backup, it should be you, seeing as you've already run out of room to back up into!"

Just then, Grovyle felt himself hit the grassy wall behind him. _I didn't even realize I was backing up!_

"Enough small talk! Finish him off Ninetales!" said the powerful roar from Magmortar.

"With pleasure." responded Ninetales. She lunged forward with outstretched claws, now each glowing with fire. It was a perfectly executed heat crash move. Perfect, that is, until she was knocked out of the air by a barrage of glistening leaves. She fell crashing to the floor, pulsating with anger.

The Arcanine was the first to respond, quickly turning his head to face the door, where the attack had come from. Then he leaped forward and crossed the entire wide room in only three bounds. When he got to the other end, however, he was met with a shattering punch. This punch sent him reeling back, and once he had found his footing again, he leaped once more. This time the Sceptile was not so lucky, because Arcanine's massive frame crashed straight into his brush covered chest, and the two went flying backwards together. Sceptile had not come alone however; in fact he actually came with two other Pokémon, each of the grass type, and each ready to fight. The first one stepped forward and launched a powerful psychic attack, It's three heads chanted loudly in unison as it raised one foot forward and then slammed it down on the ground, causing it to quake with the strength of a psyshock. The leafy palms on its head glowed faintly purple as it stepped down as well, amplifying its' already impressive psychic abilities. Grovyle recognized this one as Exeggutor; a high ranking lieutenant whom he had often seen meditating around the grounds. He was surprised that such a solitary and quiet Pokémon could possess such power. His three heads mouthed thousands of words so quickly and so perfectly that it was almost mesmerizing to watch. The last Pokemon, standing on Exeggutor's left, was much less intimidating. Whereas Exeggutor resembled a powerful colossus of a figure, the flimsy, noodle-like stature of this Pokemon was almost laughable. Then again, when you are a Carnevine, it's hard to look any other way. This particular Carnevine was in no way laughing though, because a ferocious glare was too busy emanating from his cartoonish eyes. Carnivine slithered furiously towards the fire types, but before he could reach them, Magmortar picked up the tiny Growlithe and hurled him straight into Carnevine's stomach. The pair tumbled across the floor briefly before coming to a stop near the rear wall.

Grovyle took this confusion as an opportunity to escape. But before he could even make it three steps, he felt a searing pain explode on his back.

"OW! What the-?" he demanded as he turned around. Behind him stood Ninetales, already recovered from her fall, and already lining up a second ember attack. Grovyle dodged quickly as a second burst of small red embers whizzed past his head, and then a third time, and then a fourth time.

_Hey, look at me, I'm actually dodging real attacks! And im not even on fire yet!_ Thought the confident young Grovyle. After one fifth and final shot was dodged however, Ninetales decided to get up close and personal. She ran forward and lunged out with a slash attack. Grovyle saw this coming however, and managed to block the attack by raising an arm.

"You probably think you're some kind of professional don't you kid?" angrily growled the Ninetales. "Well just cause you can slither around some embers doesn't mean you've got what it takes to fight!"

"Honestly with aim like that, I thought I was going to be the one lecturing you!" Said Grovyle as his confidence grew. _Wow, I'm surprised I thought of that comeback so quickly. Maybe I am a professional!_

But just as he thought that, he felt something sweep his leg and send him down on the floor. Ninetales had used one of her tails to sweep his leg out from under him!

Ninetales smiled once again. "Poor child, for claiming to be the element of serenity, you grass types really are quite cocky. Its distasteful at best." Then her paws started to glow again.

_This is going to hurt_. Thought Grovyle.

…

It did. Ninetales heat crash sent him tumbling backwards to the spot where he had first seen them enter, where he at least had some time to recover. He felt himself cool down relatively quickly, but the pain in his chest began throbbing as he tried to stand back up. After one failed attempt, he decided it would be better to just stay down and get his energy back.

_Oh crap! Ninetales is going to heat crash me again while I'm down!_ He realized. But it seemed that Ninetales was too busy to finish him off, because she was looking intently at someplace across the room. When Grovyle saw this he followed her line of sight and saw what she was watching, it was Growlithe and Carnivine.

"I swear I'll burn that pathetic grin off your face you slimy shit!" Screamed the Growlithe as Carnivine fell crashing to the floor. Carnivine considered shouting something back at the tiny ball of fur that pinned him to the ground, but he decided that a leafy doubleslap to the face would be much more effective. As soon as the second hand made contact, Growlithe flinched, and gave Carnivine the opening he needed to stand back up. Once he was back on his vine-feet, Carnivine decided to finally get some trash talking in.

"Ha! So the little puppy dog couldn't handle a slap to the face? You must be a real big contribution to your team!" He gloated.

"If I wasn't acting as the distraction I would come over there right now and bite your fat head off!" yelled Growlithe, who was visibly fuming with anger. It was surprising to see how such a tiny Pokemon could be so violent and aggressive.

"Distraction? What are you talking about?" asked Carnivine. But once he turned around, he saw that his question had answered itself. The bulking form of Magmortar stood only several feet away and his gargantuan arm was leveled to point directly at Carnivine's face.

"Open wide, asshole" muttered Magmortar as he fired a blast from his powerful arm-cannon. Carnevine tried to dodge. But the blast caught him in the shoulder as he turned and Carnevine was sent sailing backwards yet again, but this time directly into the wall next to Grovyle.

"Carnevine!" screamed Grovyle from a few feet away. He had personally never known Carnevine very well, but he considered any grass type one of his friends, and so when the burnt form of Carnevine slumped down onto the floor, Grovyle was the first to come rushing to his side.

"Carnevine are you okay?" he asked as he reached his fallen brother.

Carnivine coughed, then opened his eyes very feebly. "I wish I could say I was, young one." Whispered Carnevine as small tears began to form in his eyes. "This burn looks serious."

Grovyle gently turned him over and had a look at Carnevine's shoulder, or, what was left of it. His large, leafy arm hung limp, holding on by merely a thread. Whatever was not burnt away was a dark smoldering mess, and ashes lay flittered around the point of impact.

"Oh god…" Grovyle began to freeze up.

"Its going to have to come off isn't it?" Said Carnevine, now looking away, himself being unable to witness the gore that lay before him.

"Its… its… I…"

"That's a yes. Isnt it?"

Grovyle just shook his head up and down. He had no strength, or stomach, for words. It was clear that Carnevine's arm was never going to heal, and the only alternative was amputation.

Carnevine turned his head to face Grovyle's, and said with a sad determination, "Please do it. Do it now, Just take it off and be done with-".

"Nice shot big guy! You practically took his arm off!" giggled the Growlithe, who was sulking nearby.

Magmortar appreciated the compliment. But he was too busy enjoying himself to show it. "Har har har! That little punk was better off without it! What the hell can he do with a leaf for a hand anyway? It's just pathetic! If you want to see a real arm, how about an arm that shoots giant balls of magma? Now thats a nice arm! Here, how about I demonstrate for you one more time!" And with that, Magmortar one again leveled his arm and aimed for the injured Carnevine.

"Shit! He's going to fire again! Just forget me!" yelled Carnevine, "Get out of the way and save yourself! Let's not fool ourselves, you and I both know that I can't recover from a blast like this! Let alone two!"

Grovyle couldn't believe what he was hearing. "No! Carnevine I can't just leave you here! Its not right!"

"Listen to me! It is right because it's the only logical thing to do. My injuries are too grave to fix, and losing two lives when we can only lose one doesn't make any sense! You need to get out of here!" Carnevine had a fearful look in his eyes as he said this.

"Carneive no…" said Grovyle as tears streamed down his face. _I've only known you for a few moments and somehow I can't let you go. It's like you've been my friend my whole life…_

"I said get away!" Yelled Carnevine as an even more fearful look overtook his face. Something in Grovyle made him realize that that Carnivine's fear was not fear for himself, but for another. Carnivine was scared for Grovyle's life.

Magmortar's cannon began to glow a deep red.

"Move damn it!" Carnevine shook now with anger and fear.

Growlithe's tail wagged furiously.

"I can't do this to you, my friend." Whispered Grovyle as he tried to heave Carnevine over his shoulder.

"PUT ME DOWN! AND GET THE HELL OUT!"

Magmortar smiled maniacally as he entertained the thought of getting a free double kill.

"LET GO OF ME!"

Arcanine briefly took his attention off of the Sceptile he was engaged with to watch the action unfolding.

"Grovyle put him down! Do it now!" Yelled Sceptile, who had also taken a quick break.

"No young boy, stay by your friends side. Are you actually going to abandon him?" implored Arcanine in response to Sceptile's pleas.

"DON'T LISTEN TO HIM! He's trying to get in your head!"

Grovyle was completely frozen. _He's right! I'd never be able to live with myself if I left him!_

All nine of the gloriously white tails of Ninetales swayed in rhythm. At least someone was enjoying themselves.

"DAMMIT PUT ME DOWN!"

Magmortar's deep red glowing arm had changed to a bright yellow.

Carnivine couldn't scream any louder. "I SAID PUT ME DOWN!"

Arcanine teased Grovyle. "Child, you are about to make a mistake you'll never recover from…"

"DROP ME!"

"Never recover from…"

"GET BACK!"

"Never forgive yourself…"

"LET GO!"

"Never escape from it…"

"JUST RUN!"

"Never get away…"

"NOW!"

"Never forget."

…

An echoing explosion was heard all around the room, and time seemed to stop as the cannon went off. In that moment, Grovyle swore he could see everything around him. He could see the pained look in Carnevine's eyes as he heard the boom. He could feel the raw power of the shot that was hurtling towards him from Magmortar's smoking arm. He could sense the excitement in the fiery little eyes of Growlithe. He could see the terror expressed by Sceptile as he rushed forward and tried to yell "NO" as loud as he could. He could tell that Ninetales was quietly watching with cruel interest. He could feel the anticipation and the adrenaline that rushed through the veins of Arcanine as he proudly looked on. And he could see one other thing. This thing surprised him the most, because he had not realized how close Exeggutor had been standing the entire time. And in fact it was true, the hulking form of Exeggutor was only some feet away from Grovyle, which was enough to put some scare into the little Grovyle. The odd thing about Exeggutor though, was who he was focused on. He was not looking at Carnivine, he was not looking at Magmortar, he was looking at Grovyle. All six of Exeggutor's eyes were staring straight at Grovyle as he clutched the body of his friend. Plus, while the rest of room moved in extreme slow motion, Exeggutor's three heads mouthed words at a speed that was anything but slow.

It was then that Grovyle felt a powerful force strike him and send him flying away from Carnevine. A moment later he heard an explosion even louder that the first one. At this, the room resumed its normal speed, and he felt himself collide with the grassy wall in front of him. Surprisingly, he felt very little pain at all, and he was able to stand back up quickly. When he turned around, the sight that he beheld was one that nobody in the room was prepared for. Carnevine lay as a smoldering pile of ash, completely on fire and absolutely not moving.

The cannon had found its target.

There was a moment of silence, and then the action started again. The fighting between Arcanine and Sceptile resumed like clockwork. _I can't believe that those two can just witness something as gruesome as that and continue on unaffected_! Wondered Grovyle as the mighty duo feverishly exchanged blows.

The rest of the room's occupants, however, were still recovering. Magmortar's expression was somewhere between pleased and puzzled, because he had hit his mark, but somehow his plus one had escaped. Ninetales and Growlithe both looked intrigued at what had just taken place, as they stood together watching Grovyle as he climbed back to his feet. Exeggutor stared with all six of its eyes at Grovyle, and appeared to look relieved when he stood back up.

"What the hell was that?! Where did he go?!" Roared Magmortar as he scanned the room for the missing Grovyle. His eyes found him a second later. "How did he get over there?! I almost had them both!"

"I'd like to know the same thing! What hit me and knocked me over here?!" Angrily asked Grovyle. _I remember seeing Exeggutor chanting in front of me and then the next thing I know, I was over here!_

Then, for the first time since he had met him, the mysterious Exeggutor spoke audible words. "Sceptile the situation has turned unfavorable and my better judgment suggests we attempt to egress immediately at the risk of further loss." They may have been audible, but the monotone voice of three coconut heads made this statement nonetheless creepy.

"So be it." Yelled Sceptile as he parried a slash from Arcanine. "Get the boy out of here and cover my back!"

Exeggutor turned back to Grovyle as launched into a flurry of commands. "Grovyle your acting captain has commissioned me to escort you as we attempt egress come behind me and run out of this room as I provide you with tactical support and allow for our senior officer to complete protocol."

Grovyle barely understood a word that was said, but he still understood what was happening. The Grass types were retreating.

"We can't retreat! Our friend just got hit by a fireball! Are we seriously going to run away?" Demanded Grovyle, as the realization that Carnivine was dead began to sink in. _Oh god. He's dead. He's burning to death and I could have saved him!_

Exeggutor sent another psyshock attack at the fire types, this time knocking over Growlithe as he lunged for Sceptile's back. Meanwhile Exeggutor still managed to talk. "Grovyle I sense that you are feeling responsible for the death of Carnivine please allow me to assure you that nothing could be done from your position to change that outcome."

Grovyle was surprised that Exeggutor knew what how he felt. _Is he reading my thoughts or something? I know Exeggutor is psychic type but that shouldn't mean he can read my thoughts._ "Don't tell me what to think! I could have saved Carnivine's life if that thing hadn't hit me! I know you were behind that somehow!" Grovyle was starting to get mad.

If Exeggutor was upset by what Grovyle said, he wasn't showing it. He was too busy sending wave after wave of attacks at the fire type forces as they converged on Sceptile. "Grovyle I assure you again that nothing could have been done for Carnivine and so in the interest of self-preservation I strongly suggest that we leave now please run to the door where you will be joined shortly do this now."

Grovyle had a lot more to say to the annoying palm tree standing before him, but he realized that action needed to be taken. He started to run, but realized his leg was sprained. So, limp by limp, the young Grovyle got behind Exeggutor and started to escape down the hallway. As he went, he turned back to see what was happening in the room.

"Get them off of me Exeggutor!" Yelled Sceptile as the four fire types encircled him. "Now!"

At that, Exeggutor let loose a powerful psychic attack, and stunned the enemies briefly. Briefly was all that Sceptile needed, however, because he quickly darted past Arcanine and vaulted over the reeling Ninetales in his run for the door. Once his feet touched down, the fire types had recovered.

"Don't let them escape comrades! Let them join their friend in the ash pile!" Taunted Arcanine as Sceptile quickly ran across the floor to join Exeggutor on the far side. "Magmortar, fire again!"

"With pleasure." Said Magmortar as he raised his arm and took aim. But it was too late, because Sceptile had already made it outside and a large door had already begun to drop behind him. The heavy grass door was not as strong as the fortresses walls, but it would hold these four attackers for a while. Or at least, that's what the young Grovyle told himself as he watched the door close with Sceptile and Exeggutor by his side.

_Now what?_

…

**End Capter One**

(How was that? Pretty good? Pretty awful? Go ahead and be honest. The reviews are there for a reason, and although chapter two has already been written, I can easily make room for some good suggestions I might hear. With that in mind, thank you for reading the story, and stay tuned for chapter two. Not going to lie, but chapter two is when the shit really hits the fan.)


	2. Eviction: 2

(Hello fans of Pokemon! Welcome to chapter two of the eternal days. I would give you a "previously on…" but I feel that reading chapter one will explain things a lot better than I ever could. I would like to apologize for sounding cocky in my last AN, because that is definitely not the way I wanted to come off. Chapter two is considerably longer than chapter one, so expect a whole lot to happen. This chapter may start slow, but I assure you, things go absolutely apeshit towards the end. As always, please read, review and enjoy. Especially enjoy.)

**Book One: Eviction**

**Chapter Two**

The door made a soft thudding noise as it slid to the ground and locked in place. Doors like this were very common in the area, and although they might appear strong, they were made up only of twisted vines and leaves

_Not the best material to use when trying to keep out fire types…_

In front of this door stood three grass type Pokémon who had just recently escaped from the fight of their lives. They had already lost one of their brethren, and the burden of that terrible moment still weighed heavily on their minds. None of them spoke a word as a serene silence began to settle. Without their words to use, these three Pokémon relied instead on their thoughts.

_I don't care where I'm going right now I just want to be away from those psychopaths! _Thought Grovyle as he started to process the situation he was in.

Finally someone broke the silence. "We need to get out of here. Those psychopaths will break though in a matter of minutes and we can't be around to greet them when they do." Said Sceptile. Grovyle was surprised how similar the thoughts of himself and the Sceptile were. Then again, Sceptile was his evolved form, so perhaps it wasn't strange for their thoughts to be so closely linked. "Exeggutor, give me a status update."

The third Pokémon who stood with Grovyle was Exeggutor, a strange creature with three distinct heads who all spoke at exactly the same time and in exactly the same voice. "Three breaches not counting ours have been reported and a full evacuation is underway for agents stationed at said locations that should converge at the central plaza where all remaining grass types will be meeting furthermore I predict our pursuers will breach the temporary gate we have erected very soon therefore an increase in speed away from this location would be helpful."

Sceptile pondered this information for a moment. Grovyle was surprised that he could even comprehend anything the Pokémon had said. "Agreed. You, Grovyle, are you hurt?"

"Um, just a sprained ankle I think." He responded.

"Very well. There is much more trouble coming, and you're going to be needing that ankle soon so I suggest you either miraculously recover, or you suck it up and carry on. Now let's move."

Grovyle was a little taken back by the harsh attitude displayed by his evolved form, but deep down he understood the importance of his words. _More trouble ahead. This is getting serious._

Grovyle turned around to face the other way, down the hall. More cool vines and leaves lined the walls on both sides, and the floor was made up of damp soil. Aside from small glowing flowers positioned on the ceiling every few feet, the whole place was dark. He had spent much of his time traversing these hallways, so he knew his way around pretty well without the light anyway. Finally Sceptile put a foot down and began walking at a brisk pace. Exeggutor followed suit immediately, and then Grovyle joined in as well.

Together the three of them continued down the hallway in silence. The loud, methodic thumping of Exeggutor's two large legs echoing along, the quiet and deliberate footsteps of Sceptile right behind him, and finally the uneven limping of a small Grovyle taking up the rear. Other than those footsteps, the awkward silence filling the hallway was deafening.

From his position in the back of the train, Grovyle examined his two companions closer. Exeggutor was sporting a small gash on his chest that appeared to have come from someone's claws. He walked as if nothing was wrong though. _Perhaps because he is taking our situation really seriously. He certainly seems like a serious Pokémon. _Scpetile, on the other hand, seemed to be perfectly fine. Grovyle had seen him take multiple hits during the recent fight, so it surprised him to see Sceptile walking so well. _It's like nothing is wrong with him. Either of them! Those two really took a beating back there and they're acting like nothing is wrong. Meanwhile, all I have is a stupid sprained ankle and I can barely walk… Sceptile is right. I need to suck it up._

"Almost there. Hopefully we can make a stand in the main palace." Muttered Sceptile as a large door began to make itself clear in the distance.

A minute later the trio had reached the door. Exeggutor seemed to send some kind of a psychic message, and then a voice called out from the darkness

"Sceptile! You have returned! Thank goodness for this. I see you have Exeggutor and a young Grovyle with you, but where is Carnivine?" asked the voice that seemed to come from nowhere.

Sceptile looked up towards the ceiling. "Our escape cost us dearly. I am afraid that our friend Carnevine is no longer with us. I hope he finds peace in the after world…" he said in a very somber tone. The voice was quiet for a moment. Then a strange steel looking ball fell down from the darkness above and hung in place right before Sceptile. This was Ferrothorn.

"I… am saddened by this news." He said.

"I would be shocked if you were not. He was a good Pokémon and his memory will live forever, I promise you that." Replied Sceptile.

In a quiet tone, almost too quiet to hear, Ferrothorn responded, "Soon memories may be the only form in which we all shall live…" Grovyle was surprised to hear these words come from a fellow grass type_. Is our situation truly that grave?_ Sceptile either did not hear Ferrothorn or just pretended not to, because he merely looked away and said nothing.

"Well can we go inside?" Asked Grovyle with an impatient undertone.

"Yes, we have no choice really. The entire city has come inside at this point anyway." Said Ferrothorn as he raised himself back up and moved some vines around. The gate began to slowly open, and immediately sunlight flooded in.

A huge, majestic courtyard was on the other side, which was essentially an enormous field hundreds of meters across. The shape of the courtyard was a semi-circle, with the rounded part being surrounded by vinework walls, and the flat part being pushed up against a cliff. Aside from several large trees spotted around, the entire courtyard was covered with a perfectly kept sheet of lush green grass. Beautiful flowers of all colors and shapes made intricate pathways leading from the rounded outer wall all the way to the rocky cliff. And pressed up against this wall of rock was a robust tower that rose several stories into the air. This building was made of finely cut stone, but covered in vines that tangled up and down in all directions. This was called the Citadel, and it was where all grass types were ruled from.

While this sight was usually a beautiful and calm environment, today it was anything but. Grass types of all forms were scattered everywhere running frantically in all directions. A Tangela tumbled along the outer wall. Several Jumppluffs and Hoppips made their way carefully through the field towards the Citadel. A scary looking Cacturne marched in the direction of the front gate, surely on his way to go out and fight. On the far side, a Tropius led a group of tiny Seedot to safety, pausing only to pick up and place on her back a lost looking Lotad. Dozens more unrecognizable grass types moved about in frenzied confusion. And through all this chaos, coming right for them, a lithe little Leafeon was tip-toeing.

"Sceptile. Report in on the incident." Said the Leafeon, who might have appeared cute, but was definitely here to get down to business.

"Madame Leafeon, a breach occurred at post three and I traveled with a small team to attempt a quarantine of the incident." Replied Sceptile in a Military-like tone.

"And…?" She seemed uninterested.

"We encountered four fire types, one of which was Magmortar, the bombardier, and another of which was Arcanine, the General."

"What about the other two?"

"A Growlithe and a Ninetales."

"I thought as much. Those four seem to travel as a team of some sort… did you engage?"

"Yes. I engaged Arcanine, Exeggutor provided cover and support, Grovyle was confronted by Ninetales, then Carnevine engaged Magmortar and Growlithe."

"Where is Carnivine."

Sceptile was silent for a moment.

"Deceased." His voice waivered as he said the word. It was clear that he had not quite gotten over the death of his friend. _Thankfully I'm not the only one._ Thought Grovyle.

Leafeon looked down. She thought for a moment, then raised her head again. "Who is this Grovyle?"

"He was stationed at post three when the breach occurred."

"I see. And did anything else of notable importance occur during the incident?"

Sceptile looked over at Exeggutor, who was staring perfectly straight ahead. Then he looked back at Leafeon. "No Madame. No other incidents to report."

Leafeon turned around to face the Citadel. Then she turned her head around and addressed the Pokémon in front of her. "Fine. Sceptile, you and Exeggutor are to return to Citadel and assist in operations planning. Ferrothorn, you will return to your post. And you, Grovyle, I see you have a minor ankle injury. I suggest you head to our field hospital."

_Thank God._ Thought Grovyle as he heard the words. He saw Exeggutor and Sceptile walk away with Leafeon, then he went off in the direction of the makeshift hospital. _A break at last._

The field hospital, nestled neatly under one of the large courtyard trees, seemed to be quite busy. Small beds of soft leaves served as cots for the injured as their needs were tended to by the medical staff. As Grovyle approached, he was greeted by a member of that staff, a rather petite looking Pokémon with two flowers for her hands.

"Grovyle!" Said the Roselia with a happy tone. "Im glad to see you!"

"Yes, hello Roselia, are you working here as a nurse?" Replied Grovyle.

Roselia's cheerful undertone remained. "Why yes I am, my grandmother told me that she needed help with all the new patients, so I figured it was time I did my part to help."

Roselia's Grandmother was the great Roserade, an elderly Pokemon who had a strong reputation for being the most successful healer in the Grass Kingdom. Grovyle remembered hearing stories about the amazing feats of medicine she had accomplished when he was a child. Most of those stories had come from Roselia actually, who was about the same age as Grovyle, and had spent most of her childhood with him. While those stories were always positive accounts, Roselia had made it quite clear to Grovyle that she did not want to follow in her grandmother's footsteps. She said it was because medicine was just too boring of a profession, and she would never have the patience for it.

_It looks like Roselia is putting her petty grievances aside so she can help her fellow Pokémon. Now that is true compassion…_

Just then, Roselia managed to put two and two together. "Wait a minute, Grovyle, what are you doing at the hospital? Did you get hurt? Oh dear me, please don't tell me you've been hurt!"

"Haha, yes I am technically hurt, but it's nothing serious really," answered Grovyle. "Just a sprained ankle, that's all."

Roselia looked visibly relieved. "Oh thank goodness, I just don't know what I would do if I found out you had been hurt too! I've seen so much pain and horror today I simply wouldn't be able to bear to see a close friend like you with one of those nasty burns… But just to be safe, have a seat on one of these beds and I'll heal you up for that ankle."

Grovyle quickly thanked her, then lied down on the bed of leaves and awaited the treatment. For a simple injury like a sprained ankle, Grovyle knew that all he would need would be mild aromatherapy. And basically that was what Roselia proceeded to do. She touched her flower-hands to Grovyle's ankle and released soothing chemicals that helped suppress the pain and also heal any stressed tendons or muscles. The feeling of relief came quickly, but Roselia still had more to say.

"So how did this happen to you? Were you fighting the fire types?" she asked.

Grovyle was still a little fuzzy on what happened at the moment that he received the sprained ankle. He remembered seeing Magmortar's gigantic arm facing him, and he remembers hearing Carnivine yelling at him to let go, but other than that, he was very confused.

"I'm not sure. I remember fighting some fire types, but I don't know if they were the ones who did that to me…" he said with a frown.

"Well if they didn't do it then who did?"

"Do you know that Lieutenant Exeggutor?"

"Exeggutor? Isn't he just a pile of eggs?"

"No, no, no, you're thinking of Exeggcute."

"Isn't that what you just said?"

"No. Roseilia, I said Exeggutor, not Exeggute."

"What's the difference?"

Grovyle sighed. "Exeggute evolves into Exeggutor."

"Hmmm… never heard of him."

Grovyle face palmed. _You've got to be kidding me…_ "Exeggutor is a giant palm tree with three heads. Seriously. He's pretty hard to miss."

Roselia thought for a moment, clearly deep in thought. Then suddenly she looked up. "Oh! I know him! He's so creepy!"

_You don't know the half of it_. Thought Grovyle. "Well, anyway, I think Exeggutor might have done this to me by knocking me over with some psychic attack."

"Why on earth would he do that?" angrily asked Roselia.

"Well, I think he was trying to get me out of the way of another fire type's attack…"

"So he saved you?"

"Kindof."

"Okay… isn't that a good thing?"

"Not exactly, there was this other Pokémon named Carnivine, and a Magmortar was firing some blast at me, and it's just really complicated okay? I don't want to talk about it."

Roselia looked slightly taken aback, but she understood that it was best to just leave that subject alone. "Okay, it looks like you're all better now Grovyle. And hey, just in time to meet my Grandmother too!"

As she said this, the aged form of Roserade made her way down the aisle and towards Grovyle's cot. She looked a lot like her granddaughter, only with much more experience in her eyes and much more of a hobble in her step. Despite this, she still moved with the grace and wisdom of a soothsayer. When she reached his cot, she turned to Roselia and began to speak in a soft voice that bore a striking resemblance to her granddaughter.

"Rose, is this the young Grovyle you grew up with?" she asked.

"Yes Grandmother, this is him. He came in with a minor ankle sprain but I just finished healing him up." Replied Roselia proudly.

"Ah, very nice my dear." Then she smiled and turned to face Grovyle. "Did she do a good job on that ankle?"

Grovyle smiled back. "Yes, it feels much better now."

"So, did you get this injury while fighting the fire types?" inquired Roserade.

Grovyle did not feel like explaining his strange injury to yet another Pokémon at the moment, so he just said the first word that came to mind. "Yes."

Roserade looked surprised and impressed. She turned slowly to Roselia and began talking at the same time. "Oh Rose, dear you never told me that Grovyle was a fighter in the army."

Roselia shot her an embarrassed look.

Grovyle was surprised to hear this, and was slightly taken aback to hear that Roselia talked about him with her grandmother.

Roserade turned back to Grovyle again, still all smiles. "Oh, you wouldn't believe how much she talks about you. Grovyle this, Grovyle that, my god, the young lady just can't stop! You know, from all I've heard about you, I'm surprised such a strapping young man like yourself has managed to stay single for so long." She even winked.

"Grandma!" pleaded Roselia, now flushed with embarrassment.

Grovyle started to blush."Haha, um, well that's quite a mystery now isn't it? Heh, uh… I should probably get going now. No need to stick around the hospital if I'm healthy now is there?" He quickly stood up and started backing away towards the field. _Wow this is awkward…_

But wise old Roserade was not finished yet. Somehow she had still not picked up on the awkwardness of the situation. "Alrighty then, please do come back to visit as soon as you can, you hear? My Granddaughter would be more than welcome to your company!"Roselia had to turn away and hide her face from the sheer embarrassment of the situation. Meanwhile Roserade waved Grovyle goodbye.

"Okay then, see you later, it was nice meeting you!" shouted Grovyle as he turned tail and began to jog away from the field hospital. _Whew, thank god that's over with. After a display like that I don't know if I could ever face those two again._

Little did Grovyle know, but that was the last time he would see either Roselia or Roserade for a very, very long time…

…

Meanwhile, deep inside the Citadel, a conflict was brewing.

"If I hear one more word about this ludicrous suggestion then I will personally kick you out of this hall!"

The room was silent. It looked as though the high council was finally taking Venosaur's threats seriously. All around the room, the five council members looked to one another, trying to read each other's thoughts, and determine their own positions as well. Finally Torterra spoke.

"But my friend, you must at least consider this as an option. You know I stand with you on this debate, but it is our duty to fully comprehend all the possibilities before we make a choice!"

Venosaur was in no kind of mood for discussion today. "I have thought already! But not about the ridiculous idea that this idiot is putting forth. If we run away, then we will have given up! We cannot let these flaming monsters uproot us!"

This time it was Serperior who chimed in. "I disagree. The thought of retreating seems unfavorable now, but it could ensure the protection of our people. By retreating, we can actually salvage some good from this disaster of a defense and prevent total humiliation!"

Venosaur was livid with anger. "Humiliation! Humiliation? Do you dare to raise the question of humiliation when the very proposal you stand for has us turning tail and running like scared little children?"

"Not running Venosaur. Retreating. There is a difference." Responded Serperior in a much more calming tone.

"There is no difference! Any avoidance of a fight is cowardice by nature!"

Serperior now looked agitated at his fellow councilman's stubbornness. It was obvious that Venosaur would not budge. So for the time being, he choice to be quiet and let another council member make a statement. This time is was the council's leader that spoke, Virizion.

Virizion was the head of the council, and for all intents and purposes, the queen of the grass types. She held the most sway in all political fields, and led the council through her bi-partisan leadership. Truly, she was well loved and well respected by all.

"Venosaur," her voice was smooth but powerful. "I understand your concern in this matter. Retreating now may seem like an act of cowardice to our opponents."

"Damn right it is…" Muttered Venosaur. Virizion heard him and shot him a dirty look.

"But," She interjected. "Serperior has a point. It does not take a tactical genius to understand that we are losing this fight. In fact, it seems like the fire type forces might breach the courtyard in a matter of hours."

Torterra was shocked by this news. "Mere hours? There's no way!"

Virizion remained calm. "Although it pains me to come to terms with things like this, it does seem to be that way. After all, we do have some eye witness accounts of the fire type's attack right here." She paused and looked down from her podium-like stand at the two Pokémon standing below. "Is that correct?"

The two Pokémon knew that they would be called on at some point. "Yes it is. We witnessed firsthand the fire type forces break through our walls and even kill one of our comrades." Said Sceptile. His usually impressive form was dwarfed by the five towering podiums before him.

Virizion spoke again. "How long would you estimate we have until fire type forces are inside of the grand courtyard?" she asked.

This time the Exeggutor responded. "Accoroding to my calculations the fire forces should be able to breach our second wall thirty minutes after they arrive there as long as they still are in possession of the same firepower they did when myself and Sceptile encountered them at gate three."

"Thirty minutes! Is he serious!?" demanded Venosaur.

"Unfortunately he is." Said Sceptile. "The fire type forces are well rested and very powerful. Not to mention the fact that they outnumber us drastically. I would personally suggest we retreat as soon as possible."

Venosaur looked down on the small Pokémon with unimpressed eyes. An annoyed look crossed his face. "Well, little Sceptile, your 'personal suggestion' doesn't carry much weight around here, seeing as you aren't a member of this council."

Serperior scoffed at Venosaur's rude remarks. He had clearly taken enough of Venosaur's attitude, and so he angrily challenged the giant grass beast. "Venosaur! Just because you happened to find your way onto this council does not mean you reserve more knowledge than any other of our comrades! You might hold the power to act, but clearly your ability to judge has begun to leave you!"

Venosaur's face turned from unimpressed to furious in a second. "How dare you accuse me of such things! You sit there and speak of surrender while the true grass types are risking their lives to protect our honor! I have no respect for such a vile snake as you!"

Serperior's tail began to glow green, but before he could make a move he was cut off by Virizion. "Stop this! Both of you! I will have no such quarrels in my chamber! We are facing a very grave threat right now and actions need to be taken immediately! Fighting amongst one another is absolutely ridiculous and I will have no more of it. Understood?" Serperior's glowing tail faded back to its normal color as he turned to look away, and Venosaur seemed just as agitated. That particular fight may have been avoided through Virizion's leadership, but tensions were still high.

The room was silent for a short time.

Suddenly Virizion spoke. "Now, I think it's time for us to hear the opinion of our senior member, after all, a little wisdom could be very helpful right now. Victreebel?"

Then, from the final platform at the far side of the room, Victreebel stirred. For the entire duration of the meeting he had been sitting perfectly still, slumped over and leaning his enormous yellow gut on the arm of his chair. Even his eyes had been closed, leading Sceptile to assume he was asleep. This of course, was not true, for Victreebel had actually been listening intently the whole time. "I… think that… situations like this one … often can… appear to have no solutions." His voice was slow and just a tad bit melodic. Everything about him gave the impression that he was an ancient and wise Pokémon.

Virizion seemed confused. "How can this situation have no solution? All problems can be solved."

"I suppose… they may be… solved," replied Victreebel as his eyes began to close again. "But… sometimes at a price."

"I don't understand."

Victreebel continued as if he were a schoolteacher lecturing a child. "In life… there will always be… consequences. It is… highly unlikely… that ever there will present itself… a problem that can be solved… wholly."

"Are you trying to say that we cannot stop the fire types?"

"No. I… merely… am saying that as we… continue… our search for the answer… to this problem… it is important to… remember this."

"Remember what?"

"In the actions of all… Pokémon… one looks… to the ends." And with that, Victreebel heaved a lengthy sigh.

Silently, Virizion pondered his words. She looked away from him and then down at Scpetile and Exeggutor, who still stood below her. "Well then, I feel that the time has come to finally make our decision. The high council shall now take a vote to determine a course of action."

Sceptile knew what this meant. Traditional law dictated that only the high council's members could be present during a vote. "Fine, we will leave now." He said. Then he began to walk out with Exeggutor by his side. But before he could go, Virizion called out to him.

"Sceptile, please do not return to the lines of combat. You and Exeggutor have done more than enough to help our cause, and it would be better if you stayed somewhat close by while the council makes their decision. Once we are done deliberating, feel free to return to this room."

Sceptile nodded his head, then proceeded out the door. Once a large stone door had fallen in place behind him, he turned to Exeggutor and decided to ask for his opinion. "What do you think the council will decide to do?"

Exeggutor opened all three of his mouths and heaved in a huge gulp of air. Sceptile recognized this as the sign that he was about to say something very lengthy.

"The council's decision to not make clear the actual proposals they have put forth indicates that they have none to put forth at all and so one is led to assume that while the intention of this recess is to allow for voting that very little voting will in fact take place instead I predict that much more discussion and deliberation will take place which will likely end in one of three ways either the council will decide to make a final stand in the grand courtyard or they will decide to instigate a full retreat from the capitol or they will decide to surrender to the impending opposition forces."

Exeggutor had been Sceptile's partner for a long time, so he was used to the strange style of speaking at this point. While most Pokémon would never have been able to follow a run-on sentence that long, Sceptile was having no difficulty keeping up. "I see. But the idea of a surrender was never put forth while we were inside, so how come you have included it as a possibility?"

"While the idea of surrender was never formally put forward several indications of it were made throughout the discussion we witnessed primarily coming from Serperior in the form of his non-agreeability with other proposals and his growing discomfort with his fellow councilmen also Victreebel made some indications of this in a rather cryptic fashion by stating that one must look to the ends."

"Yes, I did not quite understand him when he said that, would you care to elaborate for me friend?" The pair had finished walking away from the council room and now were about to reach the threshold of the grand courtyard.

"The exact quote was 'in the actions of all Pokemon one looks to the end' which is something I have never personally heard before however the idea behind it is not new at all and has actually been around for a very long time essentially Victreebel is trying to say that the problem we face has no clear-cut solution and thus we must search for a more unorthodox solution that may currently seem to be negative but in the future will prove to be the wise choice."

"A solution that seems bad now, but will prove itself to be good later on?"

"Yes."

"That sounds like surrender to me… Could Victreebel really be saying that he thinks making a surrender would be beneficial in the future?"

"It seems that way seeing as I can think of no other legitimate options which match the frame of reasoning Victreebel is employing in his discussions with the council after all throughout history this line of rhetoric has been used most commonly when Pokémon are trying to put forth ideas that are very unappealing to those hearing the ideas."

"I see. You make a good point Exeggutor, and we should definitely follow up on that invitation to return to the council once their vote is done. I would like to know what their decision is as soon as possible."

"Agreed." By now, Exeggutor and Sceptile had made their way out of the Citadel and were currently walking along one of the many flower-lined pathways. Suddenly they saw the Grovyle from before backing away from a makeshift field hospital in a strange way.

"Oh look, there's Grovyle. We should go and talk to him." Said Sceptile, who immediately veered off course and began heading towards the embarrassed looking Grovyle. When they got within a few yards of him, Grovyle recognized him.

"Sceptile! Exeggutor! What are you two doing here? I thought you were at the Citadel?"

"We were," responded Sceptile. "Until the high council decided to take a vote. Tell me, how is your ankle?"

"Great. It doesn't hurt at all anymore."

"That's good. How did the staff treat you?"

"Umm… let's just say that they were very personable."

Sceptile raised an eyebrow and considered inquiring further. He decided against it however.

Instead, he looked around at all the Pokémon who scurried by him and thought quietly for a moment. Grovyle decided to do the same. _I've never seen so many Pokémon in one place before._ _When the call went out for the civilians to come to the Capitol I never really thought so many would show up looking for shelter…_

Just as he thought this, he felt something hit him from behind. He turned around and saw that it was just a little Cottonee that had not been watching where it was going. The little white ball of fluff seemed scared as it looked up into Grovyle's eyes.

"Excuse me sir, but… did you happen to see a Whimsicott around anywhere?"

Grovyle bent down put on his best compassionate face for the frightened little Cottonee. "I'm afraid I haven't. Are you lost and looking for you mother? Is Whimsicott your mother?"

A small tear formed in the eye of the little Whimsicott. "Yes…"

"Awww. Poor thing, don't worry I'm sure that you'll be able to find her. Hey, Scpetile, Exeggutor have you seen any Whimsicotts around?"

Sceptile looked down at the Cottonee and frowned. He had not. Exeggutor, on the other hand, had his eyes fixed on a location somewhere off in the distance. Grovyle followed his line of sight and saw, through the mass of moving green bodies, a small brown one jumping around. It was no more than three feet tall, and it was almost completely enveloped by plush white cotton.

"Oh look! I can see her from here." Said Grovyle with excitement in his voice.

Cottonee sniffled sharply, and then looked over to where Grovyle was pointing. "I… I don't see her there."

"Well that's cause you're too short. Here, I'll help you." And with that, Grovyle gently picked up the Cottonee and placed it on his shoulder. Then he pointed once again in the direction of Whimsicott. It was clear that she was frantically searching for something.

"I don't… I don't see her any-Oh! There she is! I can see her!" The elated little ball of fluff now began to bounce with excitement.

Grovyle scooped the Cottonee up off his shoulder and placed it on the ground softly. "Okay, now listen carefully. Are you sure that you know where to go?"

"Yes. Thank you very much for helping me sir. But if I may, I'd like to go see my mama now."

"Haha, okay, off you go then. Goodbye!"

The little Cottonee did not even look back as it hurriedly rolled and tumbled towards its mother. _I'm glad I could help that little kid. It feels good to at least get to save one life today…_ Thought Grovyle as he remembered how he almost saved Carnivine's life as well.

"Well that was a nice thing to do." Said Sceptile as he watched Cottonee make its way across the courtyard.

"Yeah…" replied Grovyle, who was thinking about the way that Exeggutor had been staring at the Whimsicott. _If I didn't see where Exeggutor was looking, I might never have found Whimsicott… I swear, that pokemon gets weirder by the moment._

Grovykle glanced at Exeggutor, and saw, not to his surprise, that he was busy staring at some place off in the distance. _Typical._

"Okay, well we've been out here long enough, it must be time to return to the high council now. They've probably made their decision." Said Sceptile.

Exeggutor nodded his heads, and then turned to face the Citadel. But before he could go, he was stopped by Grovyle.

"The high council? What are they making a decision on? Is that who you two were talking to?"

Sceptile realized that Grovyle had no idea of what was going on in the grass type leadership right now so he took a moment to fill him in. He told him about the five council members, the debate they were having, and the possible consequences.

"Oh. I don't know if I like this… nobody seems to have any idea what to do." Said Grovyle in a cautious tone. He raised his head and looked at the towering Citadel, wondering exactly what was going on inside.

"The problem with politics isn't that nobody has an idea," said Sceptile. "It's that everybody has one."

_Hmm. How true…_

"Gentlemen this discussion is not location restrictive so I propose we move towards our destination now and try to arrive in a reasonable time as to not miss any potential news from the high council." Explained Exeggutor in his trademark monotone triple voice. Once he had finished, he even started to march off towards the Citadel.

Sceptile hurried slightly so he could walk next to Exeggutor as they made their way down the path, and Grovyle followed closely behind. For the second time this day, the trio continued along a walkway in silence. Just as before, all three grass types had no energy or desire for small talk. After about five minutes of walking, they arrived at the entrance to the Citadel. Grovyle had never personally been inside the Citadel before, so he was a little jittery when the dual stone doors began to swing open.

They started walking down a large stone corridor. Stone was a very unusual sight in the Grass Kingdom, seeing as it was hard to manipulate, and even harder to find. Grass types preferred simply growing their structures out of plants instead, which actually worked a lot better than it sounds like it would.

A little while later, Grovyle was standing at another door, this one more ornate and crafted than the last, with glorious stonework of various Pokémon patterned all across it. He recognized a few grass types, but included in the picture as well were dozens of other Pokémon that must have come from other element types. They all were striking heroic poses as they formed a large, looping circle around one Pokémon in the middle. This Pokémon was a light gray color, with flowing streaks of hair all along its body. It appeared to be a four legged beast, but the artwork showed it standing on only its hind legs, as if it were rising up in the air. Lastly, Grovyle noticed a huge golden ring encircling the Pokémon's mid-section. All the other Pokémon seemed to be standing at attention in front of this gray beast, as if they were utterly captivated. Under normal circumstances, Grovyle would ask who this Pokémon was, but he decided that now was not the time. _Looks like this mystery will have to wait._

Just then, a loud boom was heard from behind the door. Exclamatory shouting followed it.

"Hey! What was that!?" demanded Sceptile.

Exeggutor sent a psychic signal, and the door began to rise up slowly. "I am not entirely sure however the sound resembled that of an exploding energy ball move as it made contact with a hard surface most likely the stone ground of the chamber within this leads me to suspect that some form of combat is going on inside involving at minimum one grass type."

The door had finally finished rising up when another explosion sounded. This time, Grovyle, Sceptile,and Exeggutor got a good look at what was going on. The room was covering in scorch marks and strewn debris. The once towering podiums of the high council lay cracked and destroyed on the ground. Just next to the door lied the unmoving yellow form of Victreebel. He had a green gash mark on his stomach that was still glowing. Venosaur stood several yards away, breathing heavily as if he were just recovering from something. Virizion was standing next to him, looking across the room with glaring eyes at Torterra, who stood in the middle. Torterra was glancing back and forth quickly at Venosaur and Virizion, but also looking across the room. And there, across the room, stood Serperior. He was not alone however, because there were three other shadowy Pokemon behind him. At first it was impossible to make out who these Pokemon were, until the one in the middle started glowing fire.

_Oh my god…_

"Torterra, your actions are starting to bore me!" shouted the fiery Pokemon as it slowly walked forward into the light. "You will make a decision now, or you will die!" His two long stalk-like legs made the quietest taps as he made his way across the hard stone floor. His upper body was shrouded by a pure white vest of fur that encompassed his shoulders, torso, and head. His facial features were dominated by a large red beak, and above that, two eyes protruded that appeared to stare directly into the soul of Torterra.

_What the hell?_

"I said… MAKE A CHOICE!" the whole room shook with the thundering power of these words. Just as he finished annunciating the declaration, the Pokémon's wrists burst into flames. They started out soft, but quickly grew into two halos of fire that could only be described as blazing.

_Is that a Blaziken!?_

Blaziken was easily the most feared Pokémon in grass type history. His brutal attacks and engulfing flames had taken the lives of thousands of Grass types, not to mention all the other kinds of Pokémon he had killed. Rumor had it that he took orders from nobody other than the king of the fire types, so he considered himself second in command of every fire type ever. Rumor also said that he had never lost a fight in his entire life, and equally never let any of his opponents live after they had fought. He was a true killing machine.

Grovyle had seen his fair share of famous or intimidating warriors before, but something about this Blaziken was different. The usual rush of excitement and adrenaline that comes with meeting a famous Pokemon was strangley absent for Grovyle. The emotions he felt were fear… and something else.

"I am done playing games! You will die!" yelled Blaziken as he began to run forward towards Torterra.

"NO!" shouted the Torterra. It was enough to get Blaziken to stop his advance. "I… have reconsidered. I am with you."

Blaziken's angry scowl turned to a look of disappointment. It was almost as if he he had wanted to kill Torterra in the first place. "Very well... But next time, ANSWER SOONER! Understand?"

"… I understand."

Grovyle was still in shock. _It truly is Blaziken! I cannot believe he's inside of our most sacred chamber right now! And what is this strange feeling I cannot shake…? Every time I look at him, I get a cold chill that feels almost… farmiliar…._

"Hmph. You will learn to respect me in time you barbaric idiot." Then Blaziken turned his attention to Venosaur. "As for you, my offer has expired. I will kill you regardless of anything you now say."

Venosaurs' usually defiant manner waivered at these words. "Come then! Face me! I will not lay down my life at the feet of a tyrant like you!"

Blaziken's disappointment faded and he smirked slightly as his anticipation began to build. He loved the thrill of a fight. In his opinion, nothing in life matched the raw adrenaline rush that came with obliterating Pokémon in his way. It might even have been a sadistic addiction. But that didn't matter now, because if killing was an addiction, Blaziken was about to get his fix.

"HIYAHHHH" Blaziken went flying forward into the air and pointed his foot directly at Venosaur's face. Halfway through his jump, Blaziken's foot burst into flames, making a powerful flame kick. However just before he made contact, Venosaur shifted his weight to the side. This made Blaziken miss his mark and land a few feet behind his target. Venosaur used this as an opportunity to strike, and lashed out with one of his vines towards Blaziken. Blaziken's back was still turned when the vine came, but that did not mean he was unprepared. Blaziken leaned forward and put his hands out in front of him.

The whole room seemed to go in slow motion as the move was executed. Blaziken's hands hit the ground and firmly locked in place, which now made him appear to be on all fours. Just as Blaziken had gotten his claws hooked into the ground, Venosaur's vine came whizzing along. It passed just inches above Blaziken's peaked spine, and flew harmlessly forward. The attack had missed, but Blaziken was nowhere near from done. He continued to lean forward, so much so that his body weight began to shift over his hands. His legs rose up off the ground, and he found himself in a handstand. His legs continued to rise up, until Blaziken's entire body was perpendicular to the ground, and supported by his hands. Venosaur's vine still hovered in the air directly above him and between his legs, so Blaziken simply closed his legs. His two fiery legs came crashing together, trapping the vine between them. And now that Blaziken was firmly holding Venosaur's vine in his legs, he finished his move.

Blaziken's legs leaned forward more, and began to fall. As they fell forward, Venosaur's vine was pulled along with them, and by connection, Venosaur as well. Venosaur's feet gave out and he started to slide forward, being pulled by his own vines. Blaziken's legs landed firmly on the floor, but he continued his momentum forward and lifted his hands off the ground. As his upper body began to rise again into a standing position, Venosaur came crashing down. Finally Blaziken was standing back on his own two feet again, even as Venosaur stumbled to stand back up. Not only had he avoided the vine whip attack, but he had taken it and turned it against Venosasur at the same time. The entire ordeal took literally one second to perform, but it changed the pace of the battle completely. Venosaur now lied like a pile of dirt on the ground, and Blaziken was ready to attack again.

_Holy shit! How is it even possible to move that fast! He just did a front handspring!_ And yes, technically what Blaziken had done was called a handspring, but it had accomplished much more than any normal handspring could. "Did you see that?" asked Grovyle as he continued to stare in awe at what has happening before him.

Scpetile said nothing. For some reason, he looked extremely worried. When he heard Grovyle talking, he suddenly turned his head and looked into Grovyle's eyes. Then he looked at Exeggutor. Exeggutor turned his three heads to lock eyes with Sceptile. They looked at each other for a short time, then both turned around to watch the battle.

"Ha! Too easy! Maybe if you learned to be a little more agile in your attacks then you wouldn't have to rely on stretching vines and heavy bodyweight!" gloated Blaziken as he walked up to where Venosaur now lied. His foot began to glow with fire again as he prepared the finishing blow. "It's just pathetic to think that we have not exterminated you green fools yet, if you all fight that poorly, then what could be keeping us from- OOMPH!"

Blaziken was cut off mid-sentence by a crashing blow to the chest. He stumbled backwards a bit, then regained his footing to face this new foe. It was Virizion.

"Stay away from him. This is no place for obnoxious tyrants like yourself!" she shouted as she unsheathed her long sacred sword. It shined brightly.

"Oh my, such a nice big sword. You compensating for something?" retorted Blaziken. Clearly he was not impressed. "Listen dear, I would love to sit and chat with you, but my foot has an appointment with the face of your friend here and it would be terribly rude if I did not show up on time. No worries though, I have some comrades here that would be more than happy to play with you. I'll go get them now." At that, Blaziken turned to look at the other two shadowy figures who had been standing by Serperior. "Infernape! Emboar! I found you a new friend!"

The two figures burst into flame. One was Eboar, a monstrously sized Pokemon with a head that was barely visible through the blazing fire around his neck. The other was Infernape, much smaller, much faster, and more deadly. His entire head was a flowing mane of fire, and the small golden plates that lined his body gave him a sense of dignity. He was the first to respond, by charging forward on all fours in an attempted heat crash. Emboar was right behind him, lumbering ahead towards Virizion as well.

Virizion dodged the heat crash, then returned fire by slashing at Infernape with her sacred sword. It hit him in the back and knocked him down with a thud, but he was back on his feet quickly. By this time, Emboar had made his way over, and immediately swung at Virizion with a powerful flame punch. Virizion tried to dodge, but was caught by the punch regardless, and was sent flying backwards towards Infernape. He seized the opportunity, and collided with Virizion mid-air, spiking her down onto the ground with a hammer arm attack. Virizion landed hard, sounding a loud crack as she hit the floor. Things were clearly not going well for the grass types.

Venosaur was back on feet now, and was circling back and forth with Blaziken as most fighters do with before a big match. "You'll never get away with this! The grass types are too proud to fall for your corrupt bargain!"

Blaziken chuckled. "Oh, but they already have. As you see, Serperior here has been 'in league' with us for a long time, and even your friend Torterra has joined us. It's only a matter of time until your entire nation stands with us. Well, either with us, or dead, that is. Can't let everyone join now can we? Hahahaha!"

"GAAAH! Venosaur screamed with anger and launched an energy ball right at the bragging Blaziken's chest. It was an easy dodge for such a nimble fighter. He responded by rushing forward and launching into a flurry of punches known as close combat.

"We need to help them!" Pleaded Grovyle as he watched his allies being defeated before his eyes.

"No," said Sceptile. "Blaziken, Infernape, and Emboar are the strongest fighters the fire types have. We would be destroyed in a matter of seconds."

Grovyle began to get agitated. "But we can't just abandon them!"

Sceptile quickly turned to face Grovyle with a look of anger on his face. "Listen to me! You are not going in there to fight Blaziken! He is so far out of your league, it's not even measurable!"

Grovyle was surprised by how mad Sceptile seemed to be. "I don't care! They need our help!"

Sceptiles look of anger turned to one of fury. "STAY AWAY FROM HIM!" His eyes burned with an intensity that Grovyle had seldom seen in a fellow grass type.

"Sceptile!" yelled Exeggutor. "You need to calm down immediately now is not the time for you to experience a vengeful breakdown and frankly Grovyle I believe Sceptile is right about our choice to not participate in this fight personally I have seen Blaziken and his partners fight before and we would not fare well I assure you of that."

Sceptile took a deep breath and started to calm down. "Fine. But first we need to know what happened here." Sceptile looked away from Grovyle and down to Torterra, who stood across the room and intently watched the fight. "Torterra! What happened here? How did Blaziken get inside the Citadel? Why did he say that you have betrayed us?"

Torterra looked surprised to see Sceptile and his friends before him. Then he remembered what Virizion said to them about coming back. "Sceptile! Terrible things have happened! This is the end!" he yelled.

"Calm down Torterra, and tell us what happened!"

"It.. it all got out of hand so quickly… one second we were just discussing and now this!"

"Yes, I know that, but tell me what happened while I was gone!"

"We… we had just closed the doors for a vote when the arguments started back up again. You saw how Venosaur and Serperior almost got into a fight? Well that happened again almost immediately. Those two just can't get together. Every time we talk, Serperior's liberal ideas clash with the Venosaur's conservatism. It's ridiculous! They just can't find common ground, like this one time when…"

Sceptile was getting tired of Torterra going off topic. "I don't care about that! Tell me what happened here today!"

"Oh yes, I'm sorry. Anyway, those two began arguing because Serperior wanted to retreat but Venosaur wanted to stay and fight. Virizion called a vote with those two being the options but it was a deadlock. Venosaur and myself voted to stay, Serperior and Victreebel voted to retreat, and Virizion abstained. With the vote at two to two, we couldn't do anything so we started debating again. That's when Serperior made the suggestion that we should surrender and join the fire types. Venosaur just exploded as soon as he heard this! He started screaming about Serperior betraying the grass types, and how he would personally kill the 'vile snake'. Virizion managed to calm him down enough to hear the other members' opinions. Victreebel agreed fully with Serperior, saying that in order to survive, the grass types need to find new allies and stop fighting this losing battle. Venosaur got so mad he actually fired an energy ball at him!"

"Oh god. Did he connect?" asked Grovyle as his voice waivered.

"Just look for yourself!" answered Torterra as he turned to look at the form of Victreebel lying on the ground. The huge mark on his stomach clearly came from an energy ball attack.

_Venosaur killed Victreebel! How could he do that to a fellow grass type!?_

Sceptile continued questioning. "Okay but that does not explain how the second in command of the fire types made it inside our Citadel!"

"Serperior let him in! During the confusion of the assault this morning, he snuck out to the wall and let those three in. He says he did it to gain their trust. So, once Victreebel was killed, he accused Venosaur of being a murderer, and then demanded that Virizion kick him off the council. She was too shocked to respond, so Serperior decided to go along with his plan. He said that If Virizion didn't kick Venosaur off the council right then and there, he would personally assume power and kick him off himself! He even said he would make himself king!"

"What!"

"I know! Virizion told him to stand down, and when he didn't, she attacked him! The two fought briefly, until Serperior shouted out some kind of secret signal, and the three fire types broke in through the wall! Blaziken announced that Serperior was the new king of the grass types and that we had to choose if we recognized his leadership or not. Otherwise he said we would die!"

Sceptile interrupted him. "Yes, that was when we came in. I know what happened next."

"Listen to me Sceptile, I only joined him because I had no other choice. The grass types are on the brink of destruction! We need to join them!" Torterra pleaded with a passion that scared Grovyle deeply.

_I can tell by the way that he talks that he knows he's doing something wrong. He's ashamed to be giving up like this, but it seems like he honestly thinks that we have no other choice! What if he is right? I mean, we have been doing nothing but losing battles since this war began, could it really be true that we should join the fire types?_ But before Grovyle could decide what his answer was, Serperior slinked his way over to them and began to talk.

"Listen to your friend Torterra. He has realized that there is no other alternative."

"There is always an alternative." Shot back Sceptile.

"But you're wrong!" reasoned Serperior. "Think about this logically! Do not let honor or selfish pride cloud your judgment Sceptile!"

Sceptile took a step back to show his unwillingness to listen. Serperior picked up on this hint and continued to advance. "Please, listen. We are grass types. Why on earth would be join a war where the enemy has a type advantage on us? Its ridiculous! Why would we fight the Pokémon who are strong against us and help Pokémon who we can actually defeat? It makes no sense! We should be fighting the water types instead! We have the type advantage over them! Maybe we could actually beat them instead of losing every god damn battle we ever fight!"

Sceptile continued to back up, and Grovyle followed suit. Exeggutor just stood where he was and listened.

"Three months ago I was approached by the fire types and asked to betray you all. I said no, but it nonetheless got me thinking. I thought about how the war was progressing, about how we were at a disadvantage, and about how to survive. Then I realized something. Instead of having the fire types destroy us, we can use them to our advantage!" Serperior exclaimed.

"How so…" Cautiously asked Sceptile.

"Its simple!" explained Serperior. "We, the grass types, have a type advantage over the water types. Meanwhile, the fire types are weak to the water types. So, if we were to switch sides and help the fire types, we would be unbeatable! Sceptile, the reason we have not been winning this war is because we have found the wrong opponents to fight! We should be fighting the water types and destroying them! The fire types would forever be in our debt if we can accomplish what they cannot! THEY NEED US!"

Sceptile was silent as he pondered these words. Grovyle pondered them too, not quite sure what to think. _To some degree, he is right. We lose all the time to the fire types, it's just not fair. If we were fighting water types, we might actually win this thing… and besides, the fire types would be very thankful if we could do their work for them…_

"You're insane." Said Sceptile, who also stopped backing up. Serperior's hopeful expression turned to a surprised frown of disappointment.

"What do you mean? How can you not see the logic in this?" asked Serperior, now worried that he would be losing another one of his friends.

"Fighting is not about winning. That is where you are wrong." Began Sceptile, who was clearly about to school the Serperior standing before him. "It is about fighting for what you believe in. Wars are not waged to be won, but to prove points within ourselves. It is favorable for disputes to be settled verbally, but when push comes to shove, fighting for you views is the only thing left to do. If a Pokémon fights solely to win, then what is there left to fight for? Nothing. By fighting just to win, you throw away anything you stand for, and surrender yourself to darkness. If the only reason you think that we should fight the water types is because you think we can beat them, then you have already surrendered yourself to the darkness. If you admit this, you simultaneously give up any trace of an honorable cause that you fight for."

Serperior stared intently at Sceptile, who now began to slowly walk forward. As he came forward, Exeggutor's three heads turned to watch him.

"By joining the fire types you are effectively giving up everything the grass element stands for. You are taking the easy way out. And I refuse to join you. For I believe in a higher purpose for life. I believe that life is not just about winning. I believe that it is important to try to win sometimes, but only as long as you have something to win for."

Grovyle followed Sceptile with admiration in his eyes. _I've never heard anyone so sure of themselves before…_ Then, just as it started to look like Sceptile was done talking, he said something that would change Grovyles life forever.

"You need to live life first, before you can fight for it."

…

Other than the sounds of battle from across the room, everyone was silent. Torterra, Serperior, grovyle, and Exeggutor each looked at one another in dumbfounded shock.

_You need to live life first, before you can fight for it… why does that sound so right? It's as if all the questions I have ever asked about philosophy have been answered by this one simple sentence… I don't know what to think…_

Finally Serperior spoke. "Sceptile, I am sorry that you feel that way. I respect your adamant beliefs, and I will no longer try to convince you that I am right. This does, however, mean that you will need to go now. I cannot find it in my heart to fight a fellow grass type, but as the new king and new ally of the fire types, it is my duty to oppose you. Please… leave now so I do not have to fight you my friend…" Serperior's regal eyes fell to the ground as he said this. It was a look that mixed shame and defeat with reluctance and regret. It was obvious that Sceptile's words had an effect on him.

Torterra looked at Serperior, then back at Sceptile. "I… am sorry too. My friend, Sceptile you are a wise Pokémon and I respect you, but I cannot turn my back now. In order for the grass types to survive, It is required that I join our enemies. I am sorry, but I only look to save my people…"

Sceptile was quiet for a moment, then spoke. "So be it. Your intentions are pure, and I too can respect that."

Torterra looked glad to hear this, but Serperior still seemed to be in shock after hearing Sceptile's words. It was quiet again for another moment, then Serperior spoke. "I am glad we can all remain friends through this tragic time. But unfortunately it is now time for you to go. Blaziken told me that his forces would be breaking through our walls by just about now, so I'm sure that you'll be wanting to go and fight…"

"Of course." Interjected Sceptile with a determined look on his face.

"… So. Goodbye my friend. As a new member of the fire alliance, it would look very bad if we continued talking here. I suggest you leave before Blaziken commands me to fight you."

"Yes. I understand. Until we meet again, Serperior." Defiantly stated Sceptile.

"Until we meet again, Sceptile." Reluctantly responded Serperior.

…

The two never met again.

…

Sceptile turned around and stepped behind the door. Grovyle followed suit, and finally, after a short pause, Exeggutor joined them.

The door began to close. Grovyle got his final glimpse of the high council room. Venosaur lay in an exhausted heap in the middle of the floor. Blaziken stood in front of him, looking down at Venosaur in a disgusted way. Virizion was backed into a corner. Emboar launched ember after ember at her shaking frame. Infernape leaped back and forth in front of her, gearing up for the final blow. Torterra stared him straight in the eye, his face full of insecurity and doubt. Serperior moved across the floor towards Blaziken. His head was down. Just as the door was about to cur off his view of the situation, Blaziken turned his head.

His arms were crossed, but when his burning yellow eyes made contact with the three grass types standing behind the closing door, they began to waiver. Grovyle felt Blaziken look at him for a second, then move on to Exeggutor. His eyes opened wide when he saw the three heads staring back at him. That didn't match the reaction he showed when he saw Sceptile however. As soon as Blaziken locked eyes with Sceptile, his entire body burst into flames. He took a step forward, then screamed at the top of his lungs.

"SCEPTILE!"

Sceptile pretended not to notice the blazing inferno of a Pokémon as he called his name. He just continued looking straight ahead.

The door landed softly on the ground and shut for good. Sceptile and Exeggutor turned to walk away. Grovyle remained. He was listening. He heard, with perfect clarity, the low pitched bellowing of a fallen Venosaur as his body was engulfed in flames. He heard every last scream, every last whimper, every last cry.

It was a sound that would never cease to haunt him.

_What the hell…? Why did Blaziken get so mad when he saw us? And how did he know Sceptile's name? Do they have some kind of history together…?_ Grovyle decided that now wasn't the time to start asking questions about Sceptile, so he pushed the strange thoughts out of his head.

He looked back up and saw the stone door standing before him once more. The glorious stonework sprawled out in all directions again, this time seeming much darker and unsettling before. Again, his thoughts settled on the figure that was immortalized in the center.

_What kind of Pokemon has so much power that it can make all the elements stand so still…? What kind of Pokemon can end such suffering and make others stand so god damn still…? And why hasn't he done the same to us…? _

_Why has he abandoned us…?_

Grovyle took one more look at the gray Pokémon with the gold ring.

_What difference did it make…_

Grovyle turned away from the gray Pokemon and faced his friends. Sceptile and Exeggutor had already made it a quarter of the way down the hallway, so Grovyle needed to catch up. He broke into a jog and started to make his way towards them. As he ran he thought about that same question that seemed to depress him so much._ What difference did it make…_ Whenever he got around to thinking deeply about the world, it was always that question which ruined him. Always.

Finally he caught up to Sceptile and Exeggutor, who were walking. He slowed his pace down to match theirs, then followed on Sceptile's left. Exeggutor walked on his right. Together the trio made their way down the rest of the hall and up to the door that led outside. Already the sounds of battle could be heard. Faint explosions, screaming, and drumming were just some of the sounds that greeted them as they began to open the door. The sights that greeted them, however, were even more frightening.

Fire type forces were already overtaking the grand courtyard. Several of the entrances lay blown open, with even more fire types flooding in. They poured in and spread like a disease over the fresh green grass. All of the previously standing trees were burning. Any flowers that had not been trampled already were simply on fire. The only good thing about the situation, it seemed, was that there were no civilians around. A few pathetic remnants of the grass type army were scattered throughout the courtyard, hopelessly outnumbered, and taking casualties.

"Exeggutor give me status." Quietly said Sceptile as he eyed the carnage laid out before him.

Exeggutor looked at the horror all around him, and seemed to heave a sigh. For the first time since he had met him, Grovyle found swear that he saw a faint glimmer of emotion in Exeggutors three faces. This would normally be a great occasion, had the emotion he swore he had seen not been that of fear.

"The fire types have four defined entry points into our courtyard that seem to be growing fast and letting in an estimated one fire type per ten seconds if this rate continues then I predict complete collapse of control in seven minutes as for the forces already present there seems to be no order or semblance to them leading me to believe that the battlefield bellow is a complete field of chaos and unorderly combat these conditions are favorable for our type disadvantage however it will definitely not be enough of an help to make too much of an impact on the battle therefore I recommend non-direct confrontations with multiple enemies at once if possible this way our forces may quickly shift around the field to support each other tactically."

"So essentially you suggest we just charge into this battle." Replied Sceptile.

Exeggutor paused and thought for a moment, almost seeming as though he was unsure of what he was about to say. "Yes."

Grovyle looked up out of shock. "No plan? We just charge right in?"

Sceptile faced him with a look of annoyance and distrust. "This day has been a living hell for all three of us. I personally am done trying to change the outcome any more. We have meticulously planned every detail of this day, just to have it blow up in our faces every time. Now, not only have the walls been breached, but our entire leadership structure has fallen." He looked back out at the battlefield. "This might be the end for us. And I'll be damned if I spend my last fight strategizing. If I am going to die today, then I am going to die in a blaze of glory. That's all."

Grovyle was speechless.

"Now let's do this. Either join me, or run for cover." With that, he turned around and sprinted down into the hellhole below.

**End Chapter Two**

(Well then. I thought that was a lot to swallow personally. If chapter two left you with any thoughts at all, please share them via the review sections. I would love to hear any and all advice you might have for me and the story. Also feel free to just talk about what went down. Honestly I don't care what you say, as long as it's in English, I'll read it and put a lot of consideration into it. Anyway, chapter three is halfway done as of posting chapter two, so you can expect it in about a week. This next chapter is going to be a very long and intense fight scene that takes place as night falls on the grass capitol. Expect a lot of death and a lot of close calls. Also, expect the birth of a new phase for this story. All will be explained during chapter three. Oh, and I almost forgot. Chapter three is the finale of Book One. As you'd imagine, I want to pull out all the stops. Thanks again and please review!)


	3. Eviction: 3

(Hello fans of Pokémon! I want to start out by saying that I'm sorry for taking so long to upload chapter three, but I just wanted to make sure it was perfect before I let it out. I know I promised that this would be the final chapter in book one, but at the last second I realized that what I had written was way too long for one chapter, so I decided to split it up. There will be a chapter four of book one, and I promise you that it will be the book one finale. Anyway, if you're looking for a "previously on…" then check out chapter two. I honestly can't explain the story so far right now because it would take up way too much room. I know it's only been two chapters so far, but those two chapters already made me hit the 15,000 word mark. Those chapters are too damn long, and I apologize, but something in me just makes me churn them out like that. In the future I'll try to lower the size of my chapters, but for the time being, you guys are going to have to make do with an 11,000 word chapter three. Well, enjoy please, and also review! Tell me what you think! PLEASE! IT MEANS MORE TO ME THAN YOU COULD EVER KNOW! Okay, well maybe it doesn't mean THAT much to me…)

**Book One: Eviction**

**Chapter Three**

The sun began to set.

It had been approaching dusk for a while now, but finally, as Grovyle and his allies made it outside, the sun touched down on the far off mountains. Full darkness had not settled over the courtyard yet, but already the air had begun to turn cold.

"Sceptile! Come back!"

But Sceptile had made his way down the steps and was approaching the fire types before him. He seemed to be heading in the direction of a very menacing looking Camerupt.

Exeggutor followed suit, and ran straight into battle while chanting in the same strange fashion that he was using earlier.

Meanwhile, Grovyle sat dumbstruck. "Wait! Exeggutor! Did you just tell me to run in there like a madman? No plans? No formations? No nothing? Just charge?!"

Exeggutor didn't even respond as he slammed a wall of psychic energy into a nearby Magcargo.

_You have to be kidding me…_ But Exeggutor was most assuredly not. This was the real deal. And the time had come for Grovyle to enter the fight. The sound of explosions was now deafening, in comparison to faint, and the mass of moving bodies laid out ahead of him was enormous. _Well. I guess its time to get in there. Here goes._

Grovyle picked out a lone Chimchar standing in the midst of the crowd, and started running straight for him._ I'll start with the easy ones, then work my way up, I guess…_

The Chimchar saw him coming, and raised his fists in a defensive stance. Grovyle, still running, sent out a flurry of leaf blades by pointing his arms and focusing his energy on the little monkey before him. The Chimchar was clearly not trained for combat, because his instinct was to brace himself and take the hit. A trained warrior would know never to block a blow when it can be avoided altogether. At the last moment, however, the Chimchar must have realized this, because he put his arms down and tried to tumble out of the way. He couldn't have chosen to do that at a worse time. The flurry of leaves collided head on, and knocked him back onto his back. _Hit! I got one! Alright! I can so do this!_

Grovyle scanned for another target, and saw his opportunity in the form of a Torkoal. This Torkoal was busy firing away at a nearby Cradily, who seemed to be handling the embers well. Grovyle quickly formulated a plan, then sprinted in the direction of the pair. He first had to make Cradily aware of the plan though.

"Cradily!" Hey! Cradily! Over here!"

The Cradily fired an energy ball, then looked over in the direction of the sprinting Grovyle.

"I'm coming in! Get ready for the finisher!" Grovyle shouted as he took his hands and made a low sweeping motion with them, trying to inform Cradily of what his plan was.

Cradily seemed to understand, because he started to shuffle towards the Torkoal at a surprisingly fast rate. His speed started the Torkoal, who stopped attacking and watched with interest at the large plant-like thing that moved towards him. Of course, Grovyle had counted on this, because he needed Torkoal to be distracted while he performed his plan.

Cradily stood directly in front of Torkoal, and Grovyle came running up on his left flank. When he had gotten within just a few feet of the turtle Pokémon, Grovyle leaned back and started to slide forward. His back hit the soft grass, and his feet went up slightly, but he continued to move forward due to the momentum he had gathered while he was sprinting. His slide lasted about four feet, and when he was done, Grovyle was laying directly underneath the Torkoal!

He pushed his shoulders into the ground for support, then threw his legs up and kicked the soft underbelly of Torkoal. Torkoal of course felt this odd feeling underneath him, and tried to look down. By the time he saw the little Grovyle laying with his feet pressed against his belly, it was too late. Grovyle had already begun to push up with his leg muscles. After a brief exertion, Torkoal gave way. His back side began rising up into the air, while his front feet remained on the ground. By just pushing a little more, Grovyle was able to push Torkoal to the point where gravity could take over. Now standing on just his front two legs, Torkoal started to fall forward. He landed on his back with a soft thud, and immediately began to squirm his legs in an effort to get back up. But it was to no avail, Torkoal's shell was too well rounded, and his center of balance was completely off.

Cradily had not known exactly what to expect from Grovyle when he saw him running just a few moments ago, but he was definitely glad that it turned out to be this. By turning the Torkoal over, he had completely removed Torkoal's superior defensive capabilities and left him vulnerable for a direct hit. Cradily threw his head back, then brought it rushing forward like a sledgehammer. His large, rounded head swung forward and crashed directly into the underbelly of Torkoal, completely shattering it. Cradily brought his head back up and admired his work. Torkoal was groaning loudly from the pain, and he was only one more hit away from being finished off. Cradily got ready to perform another slam move right in the place of the last one.

But just before he brought his hammer-like head down again, he heard a familiar shout. "Hey! Cradily!" It was Grovyle. "Nicely done! You finish him off, and I'll go onto a new target okay?"

Cradily nodded his head, then returned to his work. This fire type needed to be taught a lesson…

…

_I hope Cradily makes it quick… I know Torkoal is a fire type and all, but I just can't help feeling bad about killing another Pokémon like that… _Grovyle worried briefly about Torkoal, then decided it was not the time for that. He remembered what Exeggutor had said about quickly moving from enemy to enemy, so he took one last glimpse at Cradily as he raised his head for a second smash, then bolted away. As he searched for a new target, however, he caught sight of something else targeting him. There were two Pokémon who he saw coming towards him, apparently with the intention to fight.

Both of them walked on four legs. One was thin and tall, with long legs, while its partner seemed to be much more built and robust. At first Grovyle could not recognize them, but once the thin one began howling, he started to recognize it as a Houndoom. His fur was a sleek black color with small silverfish rings lining his back. Two large horns spiked out from his skull. Then, one look at his long forked tail confirmed Grovyle's theory. This was definitely Houndoom. The other one did not make any noises as it advanced, but it was nonetheless menacing. It looked different from the fire types he had fought all day, because it sported no red, white or orange anywhere on it. Instead, this Pokémon was a dull gray color, even bordering on blue. The most notable features of it were its dual tusks, and its apparent armor plating. The beast lowered it's head, then charged. Houndoom followed suit.

_One of me, two of them, and four of their horns. I am not liking these odds…_ Grovyle look his stance and prepared to take on his attackers. _The blueish one seems slightly slower than Houndoom, perhaps I can use this... I'll dodge out of Houndoom's way, then try to jump over that other one. If all goes according to plan, his momentum should carry him right under me, and give me an opportunity to attack from behind._ Grovyle liked his plan, and decided to follow it. Within a matter of seconds, the pair had closed the gap between themselves and Grovyle, meaning the time had come to act. Just as expected, Houndoom ran a tad bit faster, making the second Pokémon tag along behind him.

Grovyle shifted his weight to his left foot, then spun out sharply to his side, missing Houndoom's head-butt by mere inches. The second Pokémon continued charging, also evidently attempting a head-butt attack. Grovyle timed his jump, then leapt into the air. He managed to make it over the Pokemon's horns, but something else had gone wrong. He had jumped too early!

Grovyle began falling back to the ground just as he got about halfway over his hurdle, and instantly he began to panic._ Shit!_ His feet touched down on the hard armor of the Pokemon beneath him, then immediately slid out from under him. He tumbled forward and crashed his head on the back of the Pokémon, finally landing on the ground. The grass, despite normally being very soft, was not forgiving.

_Owwww…_

"Ha! The little rat thought he could dodge us!" declared Houndoom as he turned around to watch Grovyle's fall.

The Pokémon whom Grovyle had just fallen over turned to gloat as well. "This is just embarrassing! Even when you miss these stupid grass types, they still end up hurting themselves!"

"Hahahahahaha!" Houndoom was literally howling with laughter.

"Come! Let us make the little jumping bean dance again!" declared Houndoom's friend, before starting up on another charge.

"Hahaha! Jumping bean? Donphan my friend you have impeccable wit!" replied Houndoom.

_Donphan? That must be who the other Pokemon is! I have heard of Donphan before. I believe he is a ground type! Oh no! The fire types have ground type reinforcements!? Damn it we're screwed! Wait a minute. Maybe we aren't…_

Ground types and fire types fighting together was not an uncommon sight on the battlefield. Ground represented the fourth country that entered the war, and they joined on the side of fire, roughly a year after it broke out. Ground types were never really considered too much of a threat however, because both grass and water moves were super effective to them.

Grovyle realized that his best bet at winning the battle was to target Donphan's type disadvantage, so when the powerful tusked Pokemon barreled towards him, he was ready. He launched a flurry of razor leaves right into Donphan's face, then jumped out of the way. Donphan took the blow head on, and completely lost his footing. Normally, he would have fallen to the ground, but seeing as he had already gathered a large pool of momentum, Donphan instead began tumbling. His feet fell over his head as he scraped across the ground, and he landed in a heap several feet away. It was clear form the way that he lied there, it was a KO.

_Alright! I got him! Just keep this up, and you're home free… _But before Grovyle could congratulate himself any further, he remembered that there was still one enemy to face. _Houndoom!_

Just then, he felt a searing pain on his left arm. "Oww! Shit! OWWW!" He looked down to see red, glowing embers scattered around his elbow. He saw what appeared to be second-degree burns festering underneath. He quickly brushed the remaining embers off, then, clutching his elbow with his right arm, he turned to face his attacker. He turned just in time to see Houndoom huffing another breath of embers in his direction. This time he was ready though, and he easily ducked out of the way. _Jeez, how many of these fire types know ember?_

Houndoom lowered himself closer to the ground, signaling he was about to pounce. Grovyle realized this too late however, and was unable to read him correctly. Houndoom came flying through the air, and crashed right into Grovyle head on. He fell backwards and landed hard on his back, pinned to the ground.

"That was quite a hard fall wasn't it? Thank goodness I had a soft little grass type to cushion me!" growled Houdnoom, who pushed his paws hard into the shoulders of Grovyle. "Listen you little brat. Its fun to joke around sometimes, but war is some serious shit. I could sit here all day and taunt you, but I'm on a schedule, and seeing as you just knocked out my partner, I'm going to have to work double time now if I want to fill my quota."

Grovyle coughed out some dirt he had breathed in after the fall, then asked the obvious question. "What… *cough!* quota is that?"

Houndoom looked angry that Grovyle even had to audacity to inquire him. He pushed harder again, then brought his face so close that Grovyle could feel the warm breath emanating from his nostrils. "It's the quota of stupid little green shits I have to kill! You made me fall behind, and now I'm gonna burn you to a crisp for it!" He brought back his head and opened his mouth wide in preparation for a fire fang. His many large teeth began glowing red, and tiny sparks began to appear at the tips of his fangs.

_This is gonna hurt._

…

But it didn't. Just as Houndoom brought his head down, he froze. His spark-lined fangs hung precariously over Grovyle's face, but they did not move. Grovyle slowly opened his eyes and was surprised to see that he was not dead. He was, however, surprised to see two rows of red hot teeth hanging directly over his head. _What the hell? Who did this?_ Just then, he heard a loud crack, and saw Houndoom crash down to his left. In the place where Houndoom's body had just been, he saw a large, stocky brown foot. It looked like it had just completed a leg thrust, and after hanging in the air above him for another second, it returned back to the ground. Grovyle turned his head, still lying down, to see just where the foot had gone. He saw it planted firmly on the ground, right next to another identical one. He looked up at the Pokémon standing next to him, and immediately felt a wave of relief come over himself.

"Exeggutor!" Grovyle exclaimed as he stood back up and dusted himself off. It really was him. The gigantic tree of a Pokémon stood perfectly at attention with all three of his heads locked on the unmoving form of Houndoom. The fire dog looked exactly as he did a few seconds ago, only now he was lying on his side. With his mouth opened so wide and paws spread, pinning an invisible opponent to the gorund, he looked rather silly. "What did you do to him? Can you seriously just freeze Pokemon like that?"

Exeggutor turned his heads to look Grovyle in the eyes, and then responded in the same creepy triple voice he always employed. "The technique of psychic paralysis was not technically championed by myself however I believe I am the sole user of the attack in today's modern battlefield setting the attack is not flawless however seeing as it consumes enormous amounts of energy I only tend to use it in cases of extreme emergency your disastrous encounter with Houndoom here qualified as just such a situation I believe."

Grovyle had a difficult time understanding what Exeggutor had said. _Did he just call me disastrous? _

"This specific incident aside I need to make an inquiry of you Grovyle tell me in your honest opinion how do you believe this fight is playing out?"

"How is it playing out? Well personally I believe we're getting our asses kicked…" Even as Grovyle said this, he witnessed a large Heatmor stomping cruelly on a tiny Cherrim. "If this keeps up, we're finished. Did you know that they brought ground types?"

Exeggutor seemed to show no emotion at hearing this news, but then again, he was not known as one to show much emotion at all. "I am already aware of the ground type reinforcements being used by the fire types I myself just had the misfortune of fighting off two Gravellers and Krookodile by myself had it not been for my type advantage I surely would have died."

Grovyle was surprised to hear this. "You fought three Pokémon at once, and survived?!"

"It was a simple matter of exploiting type differences during my attacks I was unsuccessful however at finishing the entire team seeing as one of the Gravellers escaped with a few cracks and nothing more I thereby rank the fight a stalemate."

Grovyle's jaw dropped. "You killed them?! You killed a Graveller and a Krookodile at the same time?!"

Exeggutor looked back into Grovyle's eyes. "Yes."

"Oh god…" Grovyle started to feel sick. Seeing so much death had finally caught up with him. _ When is this hellish day going to end?_

Unfortunately, it was very, very far from over. Much more death awaited the young Grass type.

…

"By the way, thank you for saving me… again."

Exeggutor paid no attention to the thanks he was receiving, because he was busy surveying the field. There were now many less grass types present, although the number of fire types seemed to grow by the minute.

Grovyle began to feel the stress of facing such immeasurable odds. "There's too damn many of them! We can't win!"

Exeggutor continued surveying.

"We need to get out of here. Our own leadership has abandoned us!"

Exeggutor did not move.

"Let's find Sceptile, rescue any civilians we can find, then get the hell out!"

Exeggutor was silent.

"Hello? I'm trying to talk to you!" screamed Grovyle, but to no avail. Exeggutor did not look like he planned on moving.

But just then, he moved. He opened his three mouths and began speaking words. "I have telepathically located Sceptile's brain signature in our vicinity I believe he is close."

Grovyle turned around and began to scan the fighting around him, searching for any hint of Sceptile. "I don't see him!"

"Come." Exeggutor started running in the opposite direction, not even pausing to see if Grovyle was following him.

Grovyle sensed urgency in Exeggutor's step, and sprinted after him. _Wherever Sceptile is, he must be in some kind of trouble…_

Even at full speed, Exeggutor was overtaken by Grovyle's limber pace. Side by side, the two of them ran on in a desperate search to find Sceptile. Mass carnage was laid out on every side of them, from scorched dead bodies to raging infernos of fire. What few grass types that were even alive at this point had been completely wiped out by fatigue and illness. The sun had finally disappeared behind the mountains, and left the courtyard in darkness. Large fires strewn across the battlefield became the only source of light. Usually at night, certain flowers in the courtyard would glow with bioluminescence, but apparently not tonight. Even the plants themselves were too scared to glow.

Suddenly a voice called out. "Exeggutor! Over here! Now!" Exeggutor and Grovyle stopped running and looked at where the voice was coming from.

"Leafeon!" exclaimed Grovyle.

"Shut up and get over here! I need help!" yelled Leafeon as she dodged away from an attack. It looked like two fire types were engaging her at once.

Grovyle looked up at Exeggutor, looking to see what they would do. _Sceptile is close, and he needs our help… but Leafeon is in danger right now! What do I do?_

"Grovyle we need to assist Leafeon the situation is critical and our aid could turn the tide of the battle now we must move you engage opponent designation one on the left while I engage opponent designation two on the right."

Grovyle was still not used to understanding Exeggutor' s strange manner of speaking. _Umm… what? Did he say something about the one on the left? I guess I'm supposed to go fight that one._

Exeggutor charged forward and launched a psyshock attack at the Pokémon standing on Leafeon's left. There were no fires blazing nearby, so it was impossible to tell what Pokémon this was. Even without any light, Grovyle saw that the Pokémon had gracefully dodged the attack. Then it leapt forward and crashed into Exeggutor, sending them both tumbling to the ground. That's when the shadowy attacker made himself, or rather, herself, clear.

"What! Are you kidding me? I have to fight the giant palm tree again?!" She exclaimed. As she said this, Grovyle saw something large and white billowing out from behind her. She climbed off of Exeggutor and backed slowly away, never taking her eyes off of him as he stood back up.

"Grovyle disregard my earlier allegations referring to our opponents as designation numbers I believe we are both already familiar with them and should call them by their proper names." Called out Exeggutor.

The shadowy Pokémon had heard him however. "Did you just say Grovyle? Is that sorry little shit here too?" She leaned back and took a deep breath. Then she lurched forward and spewed out a large pillar of flame. It made contact with a nearby tree, and burst it into flames. At once, the whole area was illuminated.

"Ninetales!" Shouted Grovyle as soon as it got light enough for him to see the Pokémon that was fighting Exeggutor.

Ninetales turned as soon as she heard Grovyle's voice. "There you are! Finally! A grass type I actually want to fight!"

Then another voice called out. This one was somewhat quieter, but oddly angrier. "Back off! You take the palm tree and leave this asshole to me! His shit is mine!"

"Growlithe…?" Grovyle was shocked to hear such a cute and tiny Pokémon use such profanity. _In all my life I have never seen a Pokémon more furious than this Growlithe… something is definitely wrong with him._

"You got to fight him last time and look what happened! You let him escape! Ninetales you can't do shit in a fight! Now it's my turn." Declared Growlithe. He backed away from Leafeon and started approaching Grovyle.

Grovyle eyed the little puppy dog walking towards him, and couldn't help snickering. He truly was the least intimidating fire type ever.

"DON'T LAUGH AT ME DAMMIT!" Screamed the Growlithe. "I'LL KILL YOU!" With this, he broke into a wild, thrashing sprint. His paws began glowing with fire, and he bared his teeth in a fiery display.

_Oh crap. He means business._ Thought Grovyle as he took his fighting stance. Growlithe launched into a tackle attack, and snarled as he did so. Grovyle didn't have time to dodge, so he put up his arms and blocked. He was pushed back from the force of Growlithe's tackle, but did not lose his footing. Growlithe didn't give Grovyle a chance to respond however, because as soon as his feet touched down, he fired a spray of embers.

Grovyle dodged and responded by sending a stream of razor leaves back at his opponent. Growlithe appeared to be in such a state of rage that he didn't even think of dodging. He took the leaves head on, and fell to the ground screaming.

Grovyle felt a wave of resentment come over him. The Pokémon on the ground before him appeared so cute and normal, but the maniacal screaming coming from his mouth proved otherwise. _Beneath that furry exterior, there must be a truly savage beast…_

Finally Growlithe started to stand back up. Grovyle took the opportunity to check on Exeggutor. To his left, Ninetales and Exeggutor were locked in an intense battle. Both of them fired wave after wave of special attacks at each other, most of which were missing. Next to Exeggutor stood Leafeon, who was preventing Ninetales from getting close and exposing Exeggutor to close combat.

This was a smart tactic, because Exeggutor would obviously not last long in close combat. With two stocky legs, a fat midsection, and no arms, Exeggutor was not built for such warfare. Long range suited him much better. Not only could he launch powerful psychic attacks at a distance, but his three heads also allowed him to see in three different directions and survey a battle as it unfolded. A Pokémon like Exeggutor was built perfectly for a role like field commander, not brawler. So, for the time being, Leafeon acted as his shield and deterrent from Ninetales' rushing attacks.

Leafeon herself, Grovyle noticed, was not looking to be in the best shape. Ten or eleven inches of her leafy tail was missing, evidently burned off. In addition to this, she was covered in small, precise cuts, probably received from claws about the same size as Ninetales' claws.

Ninetales, on the other hand, seemed to be in perfect condition. Her beautifully white coat had but a few smudges of dirt on it, and other than that, she seemed to have no injuries at all. She pranced back and forth, dodging various psychic attacks, and also pausing sometimes to fire her own blazing attacks. Despite all the firepower being exchanged by these three, the fight seemed to be at a standstill.

Just then, Grovyle felt the air leave his lungs as something hard crashed into his stomach. "HU-OOMPH!" He fell to the ground with a thud, and quickly focused his attention back on his own fight. The first thought to cross his mind was that Growlithe had taken him by surprise. _Dammit! I shouldn't have let my guard down on that stupid ball of fluff!_

Just then, however, he heard something that didn't make sense. It was Growlithe, and it sounded like he was several yards away. "DAMMIT I SAID HE WAS MINE!"

_What? If Growlithe just tackled me to the ground, then how did he get so far away? Unless… it wasn't Growlithe!_ Grovyle pushed himself off the ground with one hand, and now, elevated enough to look around him, he saw his true attacker. _Oh crap! No wonder that thing that hit me felt hard and not furry!_

"Har har har! Shut up Growlithe! I called this piece of shit hours ago. He's mine!" said Magmortar. The gargantuan blast Pokémon leaned forward and looked down at Grovyle. "You hear that little green? You might have gotten away from me back at the wall chamber, but there is no way in hell I'm letting you escape this time. Got it?" Once again a sadistic grin came over his face.

_Crap._

Magmortar returned back to his standing position. He then raised himself up on one foot, and prepared to bring the other one down on Grovyle. Grovyle saw the stomp coming however, and safely rolled out of the way. The space where Grovyle had previously lying was completely pulverized by Magmortar's foot. Whilst Grovyle felt scared for his life, Magmortar seemed to be enjoying himself quite a lot.

"Go ahead little bug! Crawl away! Har har har!" he howled. He brought his foot up again, and attempted another stomp. Grovyle dodged again.

"Leave me alone you monster!" cried Grovyle as he rolled away from a third powerful stomp.

"Har har! Fat chance kid! You screwed yourself over the moment you escaped my blast back at the wall chamber! From then on I decided I wouldn't stop until you were dead! Besides, asking to be left alone seems a little out of character for a Pokémon that almost sacrificed himself to save that stupid Carnivine!"

As soon as Magmortar brought up carnivine, Grovyle's mind began to race. _Carnivine? Wait! He killed Carnivine! This is the monster responsible for my friend's death!_ And immediately he was filled with the vigor of a madman. Magmortar raised his foot a fourth time, and brought it right back down. Grovyle did not get out of the way.

…

He caught it.

…

"What the hell?" demanded Magmortar as he felt his foot being supported by two tiny arms. He looked down and saw Grovyle lying under him on his back, with both arms outstretched straight up. His hands were facing outwards, each one supporting a different side of Magmortar's foot. Every muscle in his body strained as he held up the titan weighing nearly one hundred and fifty pounds. It was literally triple Grovyle's own bodyweight.

"HNGGGG…!" Grovyle grunted as he continued to push up Magmortar's leg. His breathing felt fast and heavy, but his arms were holding out. Unfortunately, things were not getting easier, since Magmortar had recovered from his initial shock and began pushing down with his foot. His already impressive weight was amplified by this pressure even more.

_Shit! I didn't think this through!_ And it was true. While catching the foot of Magmortar may have been an impressive feat at the time, there was really nowhere to go from there. Magmortar's weight made it impossible to push up any higher, and rolling out of the way was not an option anymore. _Oh god. I shoudnt have been so damn impulsive! I let my anger get the better of me and now look where it got me!_

"Having fun down there little bug?" taunted Magmortar.

Grovyle was in too much pain to respond. His arms had stopped holding out, and now they shook with immense strain. He could feel his heartbeat accelerating as he continued to push up._ God, I feel like I'm bench pressing a mountain!_

"You think you have it bad down there don't you? You probably think things couldn't get any worse for you right?" He continued.

Grovyle just waited for the inevitable reply.

"Well you're wrong! Har har har! Things CAN get worse for you!" declared Magmortar, as he lowered his arm to point it directly at Grovyle's face. The cannon began to glow a deep red.

_Oh shit! Oh shit shit shit shit shit!_

The cannon, now positioned several inches away from Grovyle's face, made a low humming sound. Although Grovyle did not know what that sound was at the time, he still knew what it meant. The sound was caused as two gallons of molten lava was pumped through Magmortar's body and into his arm. Once it had settled at his shoulder, the magma would be superheated by rotating pressure plates that condensed and boiled the liquid. As the magma moved along Magmortar's arm, the plates would get closer and closer together, causing immense pressure to build. By the time it reached the tip of his arm, the magma would be heated to a point beyond 3,600 degrees Fahrenheit. Once it reached the end of it's journey, Magmortars plates would release all at once, letting the magma travel freely. With such immense pressure and heat built up, the magma would, of course, rocket straight out of his arm at breakneck speed. Anything in the way of this burning shot would be completely obliterated.

Grovyle couldn't possibly have known all the fine mechanics behind Magmortar's arm cannon, but he was horrified nonetheless. After all, he had already witnessed the true power of Magmortar once this day. Frantically he racked his brain for a solution. _How did I get out of this spot last time? Exeggutor! Maybe Exeggutor can help me!_ So, still straining every muscle he had, Grovyle turned his head in a search for Exeggutor. He saw his friend several yards away, busy launching attacks at Ninetales and Growlithe. He was about to scream for help, when he saw something else even more unnerving. Running up behind Exeggutor at full speed was a large four legged beast.

_Arcainine!_

It tore across the land with a grace that caused all around it to stop and stare. His four legs moved in perfect rhythmical motion, but his head stayed perfectly still as he ran, forever locked on the target ahead of him. Normally Grovyle would have been impressed, had this Pokémon's target not been Exeggutor.

He screamed out in anguish. "Exeggutor! Behind you! Turn around!"

Magmortar looked down and sneered at Grovyle's pathetic cry. "Shut up! Shut up and die!"

Grovyle looked up and saw that the cannon before him had almost reached its firing point. A bright yellow glow could be seen at the tip of his arm, an obvious signal that the end was near.

_Shit! There has to be away out of this! I am not going to die under the foot of some god damned monster! I refuse to die like this! I refuse! _And just then, it hit him. Not the blast from Magmortar, but instead, an idea for escape. Suddenly Grovyle's felt a second surge of strength come over him as he contemplated this option. _It's drastic! It will never work! God! It has to work! It has to!_

Just then, Magmortar's pressurized arm plates released their magma.

…

The area around Grovyle moved in slow motion as he heard the shot go off. First, Grovyle turned his head to face away from the blast, and exposed the right side of his face. Then, he called forth every last scrap of energy he had, and pushed up Magmortar's foot. He was not strong enough to push it straight up, but he did have the leverage necessary to move it slightly forward from where it was before. Instead of being suspended over Grovyle's chest, Magmortar's foot now hung precariously over his face. Once the foot was in position, Grovyle felt his arms go limp. The foot came crashing down and pounded straight into the right side of Grovyle's face.

"Gahhhhhh! AHHHHH!" Screamed Grovyle as he felt his cheekbone break. A loud cracking noise erupted as the foot made contact. The sheer weight of Magmortar was enough to shatter his left cheekbone, but it was not enough to kill him. By moving Magmortar's foot, Grovyle upset his center of gravity, and thus lessen the potential power of his stomp. Grovyle writhed in pain from the blow, but he knew that the worst was yet to come. The boiling magma came blazing out of Magmortar's arm, and almost plowed straight into Grovyle's face. It would have, in fact, had Magmortar's foot not been in the way.

The magma collided with Magmortar's foot directly, and immediately burned a hole into it. This had been Grovyle's plan the whole while, and it was working. Grovyle realized at the last second before the shot was fired, that there was no way he could possibly dodge out of the way. This left him only the option of trying to block. In panic, he had also realized that the only thing around which could possibly serve as a shield was Magmortar himself. Instantly the plan formulated itself in his head.

Since Magmortar was a fire type, any fire type attacks would only deal half damage to him, making him the perfect thing to use as a shield. Quickly, Grovyle used the only part of Magmortar he could reach; his foot, and brought it up to be used as cover. He originally meant to just hold up Magmortar's foot in front of his face, but at the last second, his arms gave out, and he let go. In doing this, he ended up having to endure an earth shattering stomp to the face, but it would actually save his life.

Magmortar's foot absorbed most of the magma, but some did manage to splash off and land on the ground around Grovyle. Once the full payload had been delivered, time moved back to normal speed.

"SHIT! AHHHH! SHIT! What the hell!" yelled Magmortar as he felt a searing pain erupt on his foot. Even at half power, the magma from his shot was enough to cause damage. He looked down and saw a smoldering black hole where the top of his foot had previously been. Although the magma did not burn all the way through, it did cut out a sizeable chunk of flesh. "GOD DAMMIT! OWWWW!" He reeled backwards in pain, and in the process, took his foot off of Grovyle's face.

Grovyle felt the weight of Magmortar finally leave him, and immediately his hands flew up to his face. He felt around for any signs of a burn, but it seemed that all the magma had missed him. His plan had worked!_ I did it! I'm alive!_ He even smiled. But suddenly, as soon as he smiled, he flexed his cheek muscles and felt a surging wave of pain come over him. His cheekbone had shattered in at least five different places, leaving a mess of jagged bone just beneath his skin.

"GAHH! SHIT! MY FACE! MY FACE IS ON FIRE!" Of course, this was not true, but at the time, Grovyle's delirious brain settled on that as a reason behind his immense pain. He sat up, still clutching his face, and tried furiously to wipe the "fire" off. It only brought more and more pain as he scraped his hands over the part of his cheek that had broken. _Wait! My face is not on fire! It just…. It just….. AH! God damn it hurts! What happened to me?_

This injury would end up leaving a series of scars on Grovyle's cheek that would never heal. He would forever wear these marks as a reminder of the day he had cheated death.

However, Grovyle and Magmortar's fight was not the only one that had just taken place. While Grovyle had been struggling with Magortar's foot, across the battlefield, a different struggle had been taking place.

Ninetales charged forward and tacked the miniature Leafeon to the ground. With Exeggutor by her side, she could have defended herself, but seeing as he was quite preoccupied, Leafeon was on her own. She pushed Ninetales off of her, and quickly stood back up. Ninetales stood a few feet away, already planning her next attack.

"You know, it's quite pathetic to go hiding behind a palm tree for protection. If you can't handle the heat of battle on your own, you should probably just quit. Hahaha." Said Nientales, the slow motion of her tails showcasing just how amused she really was.

Leafeon was in no way amused. She had served as a strategy coordinator for the grass types throughout the war, not as a warrior. The kind of close up combat she had been part of all day was like nothing she had ever seen before, and it was not something she ever wanted to see again. "Just shut up. I've had it with you cocky fire types!"

Ninetales recoiled in fake shock. "Oh my! You really know how to talk trash don't you?"

"I said shut up!"

"Make me."

Leafeon charged forward and attempted a tackle. Ninetales dodged easily, then fired embers back at Leafeon. The embers missed, but just barely. The usual speed and agility of Leafeon had been diminished greatly from the hours of battling she had endured. This lowered her ability to dodge, as well as her ability to strike quickly. But regardless of the battle fatigue she felt, Leafeon pressed forward.

Ninetales stared down her opponent, and began brainstorming a way to take her down. She had all the advantages; type, size, speed, and energy. She knew that Leafeon couldn't possibly last much longer, but sitting around and waiting for her to collapse did not seem like a fun activity for her to pursue. She decided instead to finish off the small leaf Pokémon before her in one swift attack. All she needed was the right opportunity...

Just then, as if on cue, she heard a piercing scream. She turned to look for the source of the sound, and saw it was Grovyle. He was lying on the ground in a pool of blood, with his face underneath Magmortar's heel.

She felt jealous that Magmortar had been lucky enough to kill Grovyle, for she felt a certain attachment to him, and desperately wanted to be the one who had finished him off. However, she also saw something else that made her doubt everything she had previously thought. Magmortar's arm was glowing yellow, as if it were about to fire a shot directly into Grovyle's face. She looked down at Grovyle and saw that it was completely covered by… Magmortar's foot!

"Magmortar no! You idiot!" She yelled, trying to warn him of the danger, but it was too late. Before she could even finish what she was saying, his arm exploded into a fiery cannon. The magma traveled a total of six inches, then slammed right into Magmortar's foot. "YOU IDIOT!" She screamed. Magmortar took one look down at his foot, then howled in pain.

_Yeah, no shit your foot hurts,_ she thought. _It doesn't matter how resistant you are, because when three thousand degree magma hits you, it's going to burn._ Personally Ninetales had never really liked Magmortar's immature and uncivilized manners, but she still felt bad for him as he jumped back and fell onto the ground clutching his foot. The foot would take a couple weeks to heal probably, and she would be the one hearing him complain about it during that time.

Suddenly though, she remembered where she was, and focused back on Leafeon. Just as she had hoped, The Pokémon was completely preoccupied with watching Magmortar, and was susceptible to attack. Ninetales prepared a heat crash move, then ran forward and launched into the air. As she soared towards her target, she saw Leafeon come to the same realization she had, and quickly turn around. It was too late to dodge the attack however, and Leafeon was completed floored by the heat crash. She lost her balance and skidded backwards several feet before coming to a stop and crumpling to the ground. After a brief and futile attempt to stand up, she decided to just stay down. Ninetales smiled as she watched Leafeon's feeble form squirm on the ground. Then she moved in for the kill.

And while all of this was happening, there was a third battle that had taken place just yards away. Exeggutor and Leafeon had been holding their own against Ninetales, but everything changed when Growlithe entered the fight. He split the fight into two separate confrontations, with Ninetales focusing on Leafeon and Growlithe on Exeggutor. The tactic was a good idea, seeing as Leafeon was on the verge of defeat, and singling her out would be the final straw. But when it came to going up against Exeggutor, a Pokémon like Growlithe stood little chance. The fire types' plan was to separate the two grass types, kill Leafeon, then attack Exeggutor together, and it seemed to be working.

Exeggutor was having no trouble holding off Growlithe, but he also understood that the dog was simply buying time. Quickly, his three heads went to work and assessed the situation. He saw Leafeon get tackled by Ninetales, but recover. He saw Growlithe launching embers at him and missing. He saw Grovyle get plowed over by Magmortar, and fall to the ground. He started to consider helping him out, but realized that he couldn't possibly get there in time. He decided that whatever Grovyle was about to do had to be done on his own. Strangely though, he saw, out of one of his side heads, Grovyle looking towards him. Grovyle had a fearful look on his face, as if he was trying to warn Exeggutor about something…

Just then, Exeggutor was knocked to the ground by an unseen force from behind. He felt a pair of claws dig into his back, then pin him to the ground. After a brief moment of panic, Exeggutor let his logical mind take over and assess the situation. He quickly calculated the approximate depth at which his attacker's claws were cutting into him, racked his brain to identify the loud roaring noise he heard moments before impact, and judged the Pokemon's weight based on how hard he was pinned to the ground. Each one of his three heads completed one of these tasks, and after one mere second, they had come to their conclusions. All three heads agreed, the Pokémon on top of Exeggutor must have been Arcainine.

Using this new knowledge, Exeggutor began his counter-attack. He fired a psychock directing into the ground beneath him, causing his body to quake. By shaking himself violently enough, he was able to throw off Arcainine, who had previously been standing on him. Then, never missing a beat, Exeggutor raised himself back up and faced his opponent. The playing field had been leveled.

Arcianine was standing as well. He had a sly look on his face. "I can see by the way you battle that you are a very intelligent Pokémon," he said as he began slowly circling Exeggutor. "You're not like the others, are you?"

Exeggutor was silent. He was not particularly inclined to respond.

Arcainine continued as if Exeggutor were talking right back to him. "You do not follow blind ideals like most of your comrades. You choose rather the path of knowledge. I respect that." He stopped circling suddenly, and cocked his head to the side. "I tremendously respect that."

Exeggutor continued to say nothing.

"And so in spite of our elemental differences, I would like to formally offer you a chance for surrender. I am already aware of the apparent coup that has taken place, and I strongly believe that it would be in your best interest to join. Trust me, talents like yours should not be wasted on a losing fight." Tempted Arcainine in a voice almost too appealing to resist.

Exeggutor took a step forward. He had already made up his mind…

Just then, a loud scream broke the air. At once Exeggutor recognized it as Grovyle's frail voice. He was immediately snapped back to reality, forgetting everything that Arcainine had previously been saying. He spun around and searched for the source of the scream, finally locating it several yards away. Grovyle laid on the ground surrounded in a pool of magma and blood. He was clutching at his face, evidently trying to rub it. Above him stood Magmortar, who was grasping his foot and screaming as well. A pillar of smoke rose slowly off of the top of his foot, revealing that he had received some sort of injury there.

"Magmortar always was somewhat brash. The fool appears to have shot himself. Hm… Who would have imagined?" said Arcainine. He was also watching Grovyle and Magmortar as well.

Exeggutor, hoping that Grovyle could take care of himself, turned again to face Arcainine. He had a response ready for him this time. Exeggutor took a deep breath, then began to speak.

"I refuse your offer not only on the grounds that it does not logically benefit me but also upon the grounds that I am dissatisfied with you as a being and I firmly stand behind the belief that every simple action of conscious thought you perform is an absolute waste of potentially beneficial existence."

Arcainine spun to face Exeggutor. The look on his face was that of shock.

"In saying this I wish to deliver unto you the deepest of offenses." Declared Exeggutor as he finished his tirade. Arcainine was still in total surprise. He had not expected such a quiet Pokémon to suddenly speak with such ferocity. However his shock was short lived, and he recovered.

"Well. I suppose that was quite insulting, was it not? I honestly have difficulty deciphering you, creature. Did you skip out on punctuation class or something when you were a child?" Already it was evident that Arcainine had recovered his cool composure.

Exeggutor started glowing a soft purple as he prepared to attack. The time for talking had ended. He knew what had to come next. Arcainine smiled and glowed a deep red himself. Both were charging up for a powerful attack. There was a moment where neither of them moved an inch, much like an old western standoff at high noon. Neither Pokémon wanted to make the first move. Finally Arcainine crouched down and prepared to launch himself into the air. But just before he could get his feet off the ground, a booming voice interrupted him.

"ATTENTION!"

Arcainine froze, as if he recognized the voice. It was unusually loud, even loud enough for the whole courtyard to hear. Exeggutor lowered his stance and watched as hundreds of Pokémon all around the courtyard stopped fighting to see where the voice had come from. A tense quiet settled.

"ATTENTION!" The voice repeated. This time it was clear that the voice had come from the citadel. All the Pokémon in the courtyard slowly turned their attention towards the citadel, looking to see who was speaking.

Grovyle heard the voice as well, but he did not look up to see who it was. He was still writing in pain on the ground holding his face. The broken bones in his cheek were causing him more pain than he had ever known was possible. _Who is saying "attention"? _He wondered. _I would try to see who it is but my face hurts do god damn much! I guess I'll just have to listen…_

The voice spoke again. "ATTENTION! I have important news for all of you!" it called out. "I have come to speak to the grass types specifically! To them, I have this to say; your battle is over! You have lost!"

A series of whispers and hushed conversations spread throughout the throngs of Pokémon assembled in the courtyard.

"Your battle is over! The Grass Kingdom has fallen on this day! Your leadership is gone, your army is in ruins, and your friends are dead! You have nothing left to fight for!"

Some Pokémon in the crowd were clearly upset by this news, and they started fighting again. For the most part, however, the majority of Pokémon gathered paid close attention to what was being said. The voice tried to calm down these rowdy individuals.

"I SAID ATTENTION! ALL OF YOU!"

The courtyard fell quiet again.

_I need to see who is talking!_ Decided Grovyle. Wincing in pain, he rolled over and rose to his knees. He supported himself with one hand out in front of him, and the other still on his cheek. He looked up towards The Citadel, but was unable to see who was talking. His cheek injury had caused the right side of his face to go numb, and vision in his right eye had turned blurry. All he could make out were two red figures standing on the steps, but no precise identities.

The voice continued. "As I said, you have nothing left to fight for! If you continue to fight for the losing kingdom of grass, then you will be eradicated! However, I am here to offer you an alternative. A way out. A chance for survival!"

More soft murmurs broke out through the crowd.

"My gracious superiors have decided to offer amnesty to all grass type individuals who are willing to move their allegiance to us! By joining our fire alliance, your lives will be spared, and glory will be returned to your hearts! Too long have the grass types fought for the losing side, and too long have they sacrificed their young! This war can end favorably for you if you join us!" The voice declared. Grovyle could tell that it was coming from one of the red figures on the steps. The taller one, it seemed.

Grovyle temporarily looked away to gauge his surroundings. Magmortar stood a little ways off leaning his back on a burnt out tree, rubbing his foot. To his left stood Ninetales and Growlithe, intently listening to the mystery speaker. Lying on the ground in front of Ninetales was Leafeon, who listened as well with a strange look on her face. To their left were Exeggutor and Arcainine, who stood several feet away from each other, both listening carefully. Arcainine seemed to be pleased with what he was hearing. Exeggutor did not.

"By joining us, we are not taking away your right to be self-led! There will be a new king for you! One who sees the sense in this arrangement, and one who keeps your best interests in mind!"

At this, the crowd fell completely silent. A new king? Nobody was prepared to hear that.

"And so, with your full cooperation, I assure you that we will not find it in ourselves to kill any more of you than we need to! I promise that. Oh, and furthermore-"But before he could finish his sentence, he was cut off by a second, quieter voice from somewhere in the crowd.

"YOU LIE!" yelled the voice. It was not as loud as the first one, and it was obvious that this second voice was no fire type. As soon as he realized he had been cut off, the tall red figure looked down into the crowd and tried to find who had spoken out. Even without being able to distinguish the figures face, Grovyle could tell he was furious.

"WHO DARES INTERRUPT ME?!" demanded the figure. His wrists burst into flames.

_Blaziken! The figure is Blaziken! _ Realized Grovyle, who could recognize those flaming wrists anywhere. The last time he had seen Blaziken, he had been watching the blaze Pokemon kill Venosaur as a door shut before him. He especially remembered the way that Blaziken had reacted when he saw Sceptile. _Why did he seem so angry to see Sceptile? There's no way that Blaziken knows Sceptile… right?_

"I DO!" proclaimed the second voice. "I am here to offer an alternative to what this madman is proposing!"

"SHOW YOURSELF!" Demanded Blaziken as his rage built. He scanned the crowd carefully, searching for the voice.

Grovyle also searched the crowd, wondering who had been so brave as to stand up to the most feared fire type of all time. _The voice seemed to be coming from somewhere close to me… Who could it be?_

Meanwhile, the second voice continued speaking. "You, Blaziken, are nothing more than a monster and a tyrant! You have murdered hundreds of innocent lives in your blind fury, and you do not even deserve the privilege of standing before this crowd!"

_Wait a second…_ Thought Grovyle. _That voice sounds so familiar. _He racked his brain, trying to remember who that voice reminded him of. It was a knowledgeable voice, not elderly, but nonetheless wise. It had a strong ferocity behind it, also quite resolute and strong. A voice like this was hard to forget, but for some reason, Grovyle was drawing a blank.

Then it hit him. "I know that voice! Its-"

"SCEPTILE!" screamed Blaziken. His wrists turned from an already fiery red to a searing hot white color. His feet glowed with fire and his long white hair combusted as well. Every part of his body was burning in a rage that made every Pokémon present recoil in fear.

Grovyle instantly forgot his pain, and stood on his own two feet. He saw Blaziken staring at a spot in the crowd close to him. Grovyle followed his line of sight, and saw Sceptile. He stood with one foot on top of a fallen Rapidash. The Rapidash had several large gashes on its side, evidently received from Sceptile's blades. Sceptile himself had a series of minor burns covering his body, with a particularly bad one on his neck. A large slash was prominent on his chest, and most of his leafy tail was hanging limp. Clearly Sceptile had just been engaged in a difficult fight with Rapidash, and won.

Grovyle was impressed. Blaziken was not.

"YOU!" he screamed.

Sceptile looked back at him, straight in the eye. "Listen to me. I am going to make this very clear to you and to every one of your fire type henchmen listening here now!" Sceptile picked up his other foot, and raised it onto Rapidash, raising him up enough to be seen by everyone in the courtyard. Essentially he was using Rapidash's body as a soapbox.

"GET DOWN FROM THERE!"

"No. Now shut up and listen to me when I am talking to you! You might think that you have won this war, but let me be the first to tell you that you have not!"

Blaziken's face was tense and contorted with rage. His hands made fists, and his entire body shook with anger.

Sceptile's body, on the other hand, was calm and solid. "You have not won this war! And you will not anytime soon! I admit that this battle is yours for the winning, but I remind you, it is just a battle. Wars are not won through single battles. They are won through the spirits of those who fight! And the spirits of the grass types are stronger now than they ever have been! We know that we may die this day, but we also know that our deaths will not be in vain! The things we have witnessed here today have cemented the truth in our minds that we are the just contenders of this war! And the just contenders never lose. Never."

The second red figure who had been standing next to Blaziken walked over to him. This was Infernape. He put a hand on Blaziken's shoulder, as if to hold him back. He leaned forward and tried to whisper into the Pokémon's ear. Blaziken, never taking his eyes off of Sceptile, threw back his arm and knocked Infernape to the ground. He made it clear that nobody was going to be calming him down anytime soon.

"Now," said Sceptile. "Your devilish deal might seem tempting, but there is no way that the honest grass types will ever resign to it! We have faith in our cause, and we will not waiver! We would never choose to accept your false king over the righteous queen we already have! Virizion is our queen, and nothing you say will ever bring her down form her power!"

A roar of confirmation rose from the crowd. Grass types all around voiced their agreement with Sceptile. The powerful response made it sound like there were a lot more grass types remaining than had originally been thought. They shouted and hollered, screamed and yelled, and generally just made their thoughts heard. The fire types looked around in disgust.

Sceptile had expected to see Blaziken get more upset at this news, but for some reason, that did not seem to be the response he was getting. Blaziken, for a change, seemed to be smiling, his body had stopped shaking, and his vicious sneer turned to a smile of evil delight.

"Fine then," he said in a cool, confident tone. "If you really believe that you grass types are so firmly behind your queen, then I shall let you all decide who you choose to follow. Please! Serperior! Come out and greet the masses!"

At this, the snaky form of Serperior slithered out from the doors of The Citadel. He was met with a chorus of boos and shouts. It was obvious who the crowd was backing. He moved forward with his head down, never raising it to face the crowd. His face seemed to be white with fear. He came to a stop when he reached Blaziken, and finally picked up his head to look out at his new subjects. Serperior was known as a regal and entitled Pokémon, but his current composure revealed one that was weak and timid. He seemed to be very afraid, and even slightly ashamed.

Blaziken looked amused to hear the dissatisfaction of the grass types. Apparently he found this whole deal to be fun. He raised an arm and pointed to Serperior. "Ladies and gentlemen, I give you your first candidate for leader; the great Serperior!"

The boos from the crowd were deafening. Sceptile's speech seemed to have really gotten through to them.

Then, Blaziken lowered his arm. His smile grew as he prepared to speak his next words. Something big was about to happen. "Serperior will be your first option for new leader. If elected, he will become your king! If he is not elected, then you will have to settle for his opponent…" Blaziken raised his other arm, and pointed towards to the doors of The Citadel.

One of the dual stone doors opened, and a large figure walked out. The crowd fell silent as they watched. This figure was also red, and after a brief moment of confusion, was identified as Emboar. The giant Pokémon lurched forward on two stocky legs, making his footsteps loud and deliberate. At first the Pokémon seemed to be all alone, until a large object made itself visible on his shoulder.

Emboar was holding this object on his shoulder, with his arm wrapped around the side of it. The object appeared to be a large sack of some sort. It had faint tints of green on it, but for the most part, it was entirely black. Emboar continued carrying the object until he was standing beside Blaziken. The blaze Pokémon looked at the object with a sadistic smile on his face. Serperior turned away, for some reason he seemed unable to bring himself to look at it…

"Well," said Blaziken. "I told you that there were two choices for new leader, and seeing as you have already met the first one, I would love to present to you option number two! Ladies and gentlemen, I give you… VIRIZION!"

Emboar threw the black object off his shoulder and onto the steps of The Citadel. It skidded down a few steps, then came to a stop. The object appeared to have four long stalks coming off its underside, plus one more oddly shaped protrusion from its top. Just then, the crowd realized what they were looking at.

…

The air around the courtyard erupted in a burst of screams. "OH MY GOD!" "HOLY SHIT!" "IS THAT…?!" "NO! OH GOD NO!" Every Pokémon in the area began moving all at once. Throwing themselves onto the ground, jumping up to get a better look, pushing others out of the way, fighting amongst themselves, reeling backwards.

Grovyle's blood froze. _Oh my god. That's Virizion. They burned her alive!_ And it was true; Virizion's whole body was covering in deep burns, leaving nothing but charred flesh. Her face was completely unrecognizable, with no features at all left, including her nose, mouth and eyes. All of it had been burned off. The two protrusions on the side of her head were completely gone, and her neck appeared to be burnt almost all the way through. Her midsection was coated in a layer of ash that seemed to have just recently settled, and each of her limbs appeared to be steaming as if they had recently been burned. There was no chance at all that she was still alive.

Slowly the implications of Virizion's death began to set in for Grovyle. _Virizion… is… dead? Theres no way that this is really happening! Virizion has been leading the grass types since before I can remember! They couldn't possibly have killed her!_ But even as Grovyle thought this, he realized how stupid it was. The proof was lying right in front of him, and it was impossible to deny that body…

Blaziken looked out over the crowd with a feeling of accomplishment. _Nobody has killed a legendary Pokémon in over a thousand years. Forever I will go down in history as the slayer of Virizion!_ He remembered with fond appreciation killing her. He remembered how she had told him over and over again that she was a legendary Pokémon, and that legends could never die. He remembered striking her again and again with fire attacks. Flamethrower, blaze kick, fire blast, and every fire type move he knew. He had specifically not let Emboar or Infernape strike her once she was down, because he wanted to be absolutely sure that he was the one who got the kill. After nearly twenty minutes of burning her over and over, again and again, Blaziken had begun to think that maybe legendries could not be killed after all. But then, just as he was about to give up, Virizion surrendered her life. He remembered feeling the life leave her body, and the sheer excitement that followed was immeasurable. Even after she had died, he let himself continue burning her body out of sheer delight. In hindsight, he realized he might have gotten a little bit carried away with his flames, but he did not regret it. It felt good to incinerate the grassy Pokémon, and for a short time, it satisfied his addiction with death. _God, _he thought. _It felt so good!_

He brought himself out of his memories, and focused back on what was happening at the present. The crowd before him had exploded back into frenzied combat. Seeing Virizion's body had been the turning point for the grass types, and once they had seen their precious queen's body, all order and semblance disappeared. He looked to his side and saw Infernape and Emboar watching the battle with excitement.

"Infernape, Emboar, you may go." He said.

At once, the faces of these two Pokémon lit up, and they ran as fast as they could down the steps. The pair glowed fire and quickly disappeared into the crowd of combat below._ Well, _thought Blaziken. _At least they're enjoying themselves. Perhaps it was time that I enjoyed myself too…_

And with that, he looked back to the location where Sceptile had previously been standing before. He saw the Pokémon exactly where he was previously, with shock in his eyes and his jaws dropped. It seemed that Sceptile had still not recovered from seeing Virizion's body.

_Perfect._ Thought Blaziken as he began stepping down in the direction of Sceptile. _It's time to settle the score..._

**End Chapter Three**

(Okay, how was that? Crazy shit right? I KNOW! Anyway, chapter four should be coming out sooner or later, and that will serve as the finale for book one. After book one is done, expect a change of scenery, a change of pace, and a change of characters! This includes a new main character! Anyway, stay tuned for chapter three, and get your popcorn for when book two comes out. By the way, book two is officially being called; Book Two: Refuge. Thanks for reading!)

(AND REVIEW GOD DAMMIT!)


	4. Eviction: 4

(Hello fans of Pokémon! It's been about a month since I updated this story, and for that I would like t apologize. Due to the my acquisition of Pokémon X, my addiction to Grand Theft Auto Five, and the crap-load of homework I've had to deal with in school, I haven't had a chance to write this thing out. But, little by little, I got it done. So here it is! The finale of Book One: Eviction. Pretty suspenseful isn't it? Who's going to die? Who's going to make it? And why the hell did it take so long for me to write this? All these questions and more will be answered inside. So anyway, we pick up right where the last one left off; Visizion is dead, the grass types are being defeated, and Blaziken has Sceptile marked for death. I don't want to give anything else away here… but I would just like to say that this is, in my opinion, the best chapter yet. Not trying to be cocky, but I definitely had more fun writing this one than the other chapter. Anyway, please enjoy! AND WRITE A GOD DAMN REVIEW!)

(WARNING: STORY TURNS EXTREMELY VIOLENT AT CHAPTERS END. BE WARNED.)

**Book One: Eviction**

**Chapter Four**

"SCEPTILE!"

Sceptile heard his name being called, but for some reason, it did not register. All his attention was focused on the smoldering remains of his queen; the once great Virizion. In Sceptile's memories, she had always seemed so strong and proud, a polar opposite of what lied before him now. Virizion had been leading the grass types for years and years, even before Scepilte could remember. Seeing her dead and in such a defiled state was immeasurably traumatizing for him.

"SCEPTILE!"

He heard his name again, but continued to ignore it. He did, however, slowly stumble off of his makeshift podium; a dead Rapidash, and touch down onto the cool, trampled grass beneath. His eyes never leaving Virizion, he waved his arms out in search of something to lean on. He could feel himself becoming faint, almost as if he were falling into a deep sleep. The rush of sensations and realizations he had absorbed in the last two minutes had taken their toll on him, and it seemed that things were becoming too much for him to bear.

"SCEPTILE! WHERE ARE YOU?"

Pushing the voice out of his head, Scepilte continued to wave his arms around, searching in vain for something to support himself on. Not finding anything, he crumpled to his knees, and let his hands fall to the ground. Now he was too low to see Virizion's body anymore, but the image was still fresh in his mind. Out of all the Pokémon that could have died in this war, Virizion was the last one that Sceptile had seen coming. After all, she was a legendary, and supposedly, a legendary Pokémon hasn't died in over a thousand years. The story of the last legendary to die, coincidentally the first, was shrouded in mystery, and passed on only through oral tradition. For as long as he could remember, Sceptile had regarded that story as a fluke. A mere tall tale, used to scare children and teach humility. The moral of the story was that nothing was immune from death, not even legends themselves. However, no one revered that story as accurate. As far as the general population was concerned, legendries were immortal. Of course, after the shocking events of this day, nobody would ever make that mistake again.

"SCEPTILE! COME HERE!"

The thing that Sceptile could not understand was how it could be done. He simply could not comprehend what kind of monstrous Pokémon was capable of such an act. Killing a legendary Pokémon? It was like removing a small part of the world itself. Any Pokémon that accomplished such a feat would have had to have been a cold hearted killer. But just then, he remembered which cold blooded killer had done this.

"Blaziken…" He breathed the word quietly, feeling its weight roll over his tongue and fall flat onto the ground. He blinked, formed his hand into a fist, and rose back to his feet.

The rage started slowly. First it was a rush of realizations, as if the truth were some ancient treasure that had been hidden from him beneath a layer of sand, and he now eagerly brushed away the sand, revealing more and more pieces of the mystery. Next, once he had realized what he was looking at, he began to make connections. Linking pain to punches, emotions to friends, deaths to killers, fire to embers, and Virizion to Blaziken.

"He killed her… that monster actually killed her…" He said softly to himself. Then, all at once, he let his rage overtake him. He felt hatred swarm over him like a flood, and suddenly he was flying. Running at full speed, over grass, over fire, over bodies, over everything. Nothing around his held his attention save the sound of a lone voice calling out his name.

"SCEPTILE!"

He knew who the voice belonged to, and nothing in the world would have pleased him more than to end the speaker. He rushed as fast as his body would allow towards the voice, his anger mounting higher and higher as he ran. The Pokémon around him were nothing more than specks as he charged onwards. Meanwhile, the voice was sounding closer.

"SCEPTILE! PLEASE! COME HERE!"

Finally he broke through a crowd, and reached a clearing. There, standing in the center, with his back turned to Sceptile, was the Pokémon who had been calling him. Scepitle, blind with fury, let out a barbaric war cry, then lunged forward.

"GAHHHHHH!" he screamed.

The Pokémon heard his yell, and quickly turned around.

"Sceptile!" exclaimed Grovyle with shock in his voice. He saw the towering frame of Sceptile coming straight for him, and held up his arms in an impulsive defense.

Moments before impact, Sceptile realized who he was looking at. He saw the quivering form of Grovyle, and instantly his thoughts began to clear. Something about that face made his anger go right away. Sceptile stopped his attack, and landed on the ground right in front of Grovyle. He looked at the Pokémon before him, and felt his anger simmer down. Something about his face, the way he looked back at Sceptile, made him change deep inside, and leave his hatred behind.

Grovyle, on the other hand, was horrified. He opened one eye, and, expecting to see Sceptile collide with him, and instead saw the grass Pokémon looking back at him with a sad expression on his face.

"… Sceptile!? What the hell was that? You almost hit me!" he stammered.

Sceptile sighed. "I'm sorry. I just… I thought you were someone else."

Grovyle gave him an inquisitive expression. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

Sceptile realized suddenly that he had been staring straight into Grovyle's eyes the whole time. He quickly turned his gaze away, and put his hands on his forehead. "Nevermind… I just thought I saw something."

"In my eyes? What are you talking about?"

"You reminded me of someone for a moment there. That's it. Now please… let's move on."

Grovyle was puzzled by Sceptile's attitude, but he excused it, mainly because of the circumstances he had just been under. _Sceptile just stood up to Blaziken! It had to have taken so much courage to do something like that in front of everyone… and then to have been shown Virizion's body. God, I hope Sceptile is going to be alright…_

"Where is Exeggutor?" demanded Sceptile.

Grovyle snapped back to reality. "What? Oh, Exeggutor… I'm not sure, when everyone started going crazy, I ran to try and find you, but I think he stayed behind to fight."

"Fight who?"

"The fire types from before. Arcainine, Magmortar, Growlithe, and Ninetales. They were attacking Leafeon when we showed up. Exeggutor and I were just fighting them when Blaziken appeared on the steps of The Citadel."

Sceptile looked around him, scanning the courtyard. "Were you winning?"

Grovyle was surprised by the question, but he answered it nonetheless. "I don't think so... I mean, I managed to hurt Magmortar pretty bad, and Exeggutor was handling Arcainine, so I don't think we were doing terrible or anything."

"I see. And who hurt you?"

"Hurt me?"

"Yes you. You seem to have a pretty bad mess on your cheek."

Grovyle suddenly remembered his condition. _My cheek! Oh god it hurts!_ Just a few minutes ago, Grovyle had been fighting Magmortar, and had taken a stomp directly to his face. He knew that some of his cheekbone had been broken, but he was not sure quite how bad the injury actually was. One thing he did know, however, was that it hurt like hell.

"Magmortar stomped on my face. It hurts a lot." He said.

Sceptile looked back at him with an interested expression. "You shouldn't have survived that."

Grovyle knew that he had gotten extremely lucky, and had already realized that he shouldn't even be alive at the moment. "I know…"

Sceptile looked down at Grovyle for another moment, then turned back to the courtyard. He focused on a spot in the distance. "I see Exeggutor over there. Let's move."

Gro vyle looked to where Sceptile was pointing, and although he couldn't see Exeggutor, he began to head that way. Sceptile was right behind him. They ran in a very hectic manner, constantly stopping to turn their direction and navigate through the mass of bodies. Everywhere they turned, they saw a fire type or ground type furiously fighting a grass type. Unfortunately, most of the time it appeared that the grass type was losing. There was a noticeably larger amount of dead bodies by now, almost making it hard to run without stepping on one. As for the trees, every single one of them was on fire, casting eerie lights over the formerly green courtyard. All traces of sunlight were gone from the horizon, but these burning trees and bushes were more than enough to provide light.

_What will happen when these trees burn out? Will anybody be able to see anything? _Wondered Grovyle. _Are we even going to be alive long enough to find out…?_

"There." Sceptile said as he came to a screeching halt. There, just before him, stood Exeggutor. He was still fighting Arcainine, but now Arcainine was not alone. Growlithe and Ninetales had joined him, and were performing a three-pronged attack. Ninetales stood a ways back, firing off embers. Growlithe circled Exeggutor, trying to distract him and possibly flank his grassy opponent. Arcainine lunged forward repeatedly, but was thrown back by Exeggutor's psychic attacks. Exeggutor himself was starting to show signs of fatigue, his movements were not as decisive or smooth, and even his heads appeared to move slightly out of pace with one another.

Arcainine saw Sceptile, and stopped his attacks. "Well, look who finally showed up! It's our old friend Sceptile!"

Growlithe's ears perked up when he heard the name called out. Ninetales glanced over for a moment, then continued attacking Exeggutor.

"Arcainine. It's been too long, hasn't it?" replied Sceptile.

Arcainine smiled. "You're telling me… I really was beginning to miss the feeling of your flesh beneath my claws. I'll admit, your grassy little friends tear up quite nicely, but I find it much more enjoyable when I rip you apart. Much more fun…"

Grovyle was surprised. _Well that was creepy…_

Sceptile, however, did not skip a beat. "I'm touched. Really, I am. But unfortunately I can't reciprocate these feelings. Your claws aren't nearly as nice as some of your other friends here, and I much more enjoy being cut by them. Perhaps if you worked on your form a little bit, I would decide that you were good enough for me."

Arcainine's smile faded. "How amusing. You've been fighting all day, and yet you still find the energy for sacrastic small talk."

This time it was Sceptile who smiled. "You know how highly I value proper etiquette."

"Very well. As the host, I would expect you to treat us, your guests, with nothing but the finest manners. Thank you." Responded Arcainine as he let his paws begin to glow.

"Don't mention it." Said Sceptile as he raised his arms to a fighting stance.

"SHUT THE HELL UP AND KILL HIM!" demanded Growlithe. The whole group paused and looked to the tiny dog. He shook with anticipation, and his little tail was wagging. He looked back at them, and let an angry expression take over his face. "DON'T LAUGH AT ME YOU STUPID SHITS!"

And with that, he lunged at Sceptile. Sceptile slid to the right, and spun around. Mid-spin, Growlitle passed behind him in the spot he used to be. Sceptile threw up his tail behind him, and hit Growlithe in the stomach. The attack was forceful enough to send Growlithe up into the air, where he hovered for a moment. Sceptile finished his spin, then leaned back with both arms and prepared a thrusting attack.

Grovyle saw what Sceptile was about to do, and got ready to assist him. He held out his arm perpendicular to his body, then turned to face Growlithe. Sceptile saw what Grovyle was doing, and nodded in agreement. Growlithe began to drop, and once he was in the air in front of Sceptile, the grass Pokémon let loose his attack. He threw forward both arms, and, with palms outstretched, pressed hard into the side of Growlithe's body. The attack sent Growlithe flying again, this time horizontally instead of vertically. He travelled about two feet, then, still in the air, collided with Grovyle's outstretched arm. Contact was made just under the neck, and Growlite fell spinning to the ground.

_CLOTHES-LINED!_

"Grovyle! Finish him!" Shouted Sceptile.

Grovyle looked down at Growlithe, who lay in a ball on the ground before him. The tiny Pokémon was groaning in pain, slightly twitching, but otherwise not moving at all. Grovyle had always experienced a deep emotional conflict when it came to killing another Pokémon, so when he finally had the opportunity right in front of him, the young grass type felt paralyzed. _Kill him…? Now…? But he's completely defenseless…_

"Grovyle! Do it now! Hurry up and-" But Sceptile was cut off mid-sentence when he saw something out of the corner of his eye. It was Arcainine, barreling straight for him in the middle of a heat crash move. Sceptile had about one second until Arcianine made contact with him, so dodging was out of the question. He quickly decided to take the hit, and try to recover. He raised his arms in a blocking fashion, then closed his eyes and braced for impact.

The furry form of Arcainine felt like a brick wall as he collided straight into Sceptile. The heat crash had enough force behind it to send Sceptile rolling backwards, but only a few yards. Arcainine rolled as well, but recovered fast. Once he was on his feet again, he lunged forward to attack the recovering form of Sceptile again. The clash of the leaders had begun yet again.

Meanwhile, Grovyle was still struggling with the choice that he was facing. Right before him laid the unmoving form of Growlithe, an easy kill. Sceptile was now preoccupied with Arcainine, and since Exeggutor was handling Ninetales, he seemed to be on his own.

_If I kill him… will it be justified? I mean, it was his choice to come here and join this war. If he is willing to come to my home and fight my people, then he should at least be prepared to face the consequences of his actions. He is not a victim of this war, he is a willing participant. And he is my enemy._

Grovyle raised his arm, and prepared to slash Growlithe in the throat. His arm shook as he prepared, but he had made his decision, and he knew he had to stick with it. Just then, as the executioner's blade was about to fall, Growlithe stirred. He rolled over, and exposed his face to Grovyle's. He was covered in dirt, and small drops of blood adorned him as well. The typically violent expression that Growlithe exhibited disappeared, and was replaced with one of sorrow, confusion, and doubt. Grovyle stood frozen, unable to bring down his arm. Just then, the two locked eyes.

_Oh god… I can't do this. Not like this._

Growlithe looked into Grovyle's eyes for a second, and a tiny tear formed. It welled up quickly, and glistened brightly off the burning tress around them. Grovyle stood asphyxiated on the teardrop, completely unable to move. He felt a deep sadness form inside of him, one that not only included pity for Growlithe, but pity for every Pokémon that had ever died.

In that moment, Grovyle made his choice.

_I… I will never kill a Pokémon. Never. I swear it to the highest powers above, I cannot and will not ever take the life from a fellow Pokémon. Ever._

Grovyle lowered his arm, and let it hang limp at his side. He exhaled loudly, for he had not even realized how tightly he had been holding his breath. All his muscles relaxed, and he turned away from Growlithe, unable to even look at him now.

Growlithe, however, was dumbfounded. "You… you… you aren't going to kill me?" He stammered. "You're just going to walk away from me…?"

"No. I wont." Replied Grovyle.

Growlithe was silent, then his eyes erupted in rage. "WHY THE HELL NOT!?" he screamed.

Grovyle spun around, surprised at what he was hearing.

"You defeat me! Humiliate me! Desecrate me! THEN YOU JUST WALK AWAY AND LEAVE ME HERE!? COME BACK AND KILL ME!" he demanded.

Grovyle was struggling to understand why Growlithe was behaving like this.

"I have failed! And if I do not accept my punishment honorably, he will make my life hell!"

"Who will?" Asked Grovyle.

"DO YOU KNOW THE KIND OF HORRIBLE LIFE I HAVE HAD TO DEAL WITH BECAUSE OF MY FATHER!?"

Grovle was confused for a moment, then realized that Growlithe must have been talking about Arcainine. _Growlithe is Arcainine's son! It makes so much sense now! Arcainine is a famous general in the fire type army, so Growlithe must have had to grow up under his shadow for years… I can't imagine the high expectations and pressure he must have felt to succeed._

"HE TREATS ME LIKE SHIT! ABSOLUTE SHIT! And if I don't prove myself to him through battle, I mean nothing to him! NOTHING!"

_He's right… Arcainine acted as though he had never even seen Growlithe before. I can't imagine such a father acting in such a cold-hearted way to his son. It's not right…_

"AND NOW! NOW! Not only have I failed him by letting you defeat me, But I have also failed him by not dying with honor! YOU BEAT ME! I - *cough!* LOST TO YOU! THAT MEANS I AM NOT WORTHY TO LIVE!" Growlithe was practically crying with anger right now. In fact, Grovyle actually noticed several more teardrops form on his contorted, red face.

Grovyle couldn't think of the right words to say. He simply watched Growlithe on the ground, and said the first thing that came to his mind. "Growlithe, it's not right for you to die just because you lost to me. We all lose sometimes. You just need to stand back up." He reasoned.

"NO I DON'T! I CAN'T! You don't understand the society I live in! YOU NEVER WILL! If you let me live, I will be branded as a coward! A FAILURE! A WASTE OF LIFE! NO ONE WILL EVER TALK TO ME AGAIN! I WILL LIVE A LIFE OF EXCLUSION AND DESTITUTION!"

Grovyle was at a loss for words.

"JUST KILL ME! I SAID KILL ME DAMMIT!" Growlithe's voice softened, he rolled over on his side, and began to weep." Just…. kill me."

"I..." began Grovyle not sure of what he planned to say. Luckily, however, he was cut by others shouting around him. It was Ninetales. Grovyle turned just in time to see her go flying through the air, and land hard on her back. She tried to stand back up, but her leg buckled as soon as she put pressure on it.

"OW! Damn you! What have you done to my leg?!" she demanded.

Exeggutor, evidently the one responsible for her injury, replied calmly. "I find your asking of such a rhetorical question boring at best and suggest you lie still while I finish your life for it's obvious that your ankle is broken and seeing as the nature of these battles rely heavily on running I do not see you participating in more combat anytime soon thus the time has come for you to die."

Ninetales hissed back at him, her face full of anger. "Stay away from me! I don't need my foot to kill you!" and with that, she stood back up. Although Ninetales was able to stand again, it was obvious that she was shaking in pain.

Exeggutor paused for a moment, observing Ninetales as she stood. Then he leaned forward and fired a volley of powerful bullet seeds. Ninetales was unable to dodge, and took the attack head-on. She crumpled to the ground, and lied there still.

_Did Exeggutor just kill her?_ Thought Grovyle. But as he watched the silent form of Ninetales, he noticed her breathing ever so slightly. She was alive. _Oh, I guess not._

Exeggutor ran over to where Grovyle stood and addressed him. "Grovyle I can see that you have not carried out your orders in killing this Growlithe while this is a direct violation of command I feel we cannot dwell on it, and should thus move on to our ally Sceptile he surely needs our help."

Grovyle watched as Exeggutor's three heads spoke to him, then nodded once he was done. He took one last look at Growltihe, who was lying on his side. His fur was softly matted with blood, and the tears he had previously shed now either hung limp on his cheek or puddled on the ground. His neck was unusually red, obviously sore and bruised from the impact it had just endured. Both of Growlithe's eyes were open, and they looked straight back into Grovyle's.

"Please…" he whispered.

_No. _Decided Grovyle. He started to walk away, and finally looked in front of him. There he saw Sceptile and Arcainine, who were locked in a feverish battle. Exeggutor ran to help, and Grovyle pushed forward as well, trying as hard as he could to put the image of Growlithe out of his head, and wondering if he would ever see the tortured little puppy dog ever again.

…

The next time they met, He would not be a mere puppy dog anymore.

…

The fearsome fiery dog lunged forward and slashed at Sceptile. The attack missed, but he was ready with a second one. Arcainine spun around and tried to bite down on the elusive Sceptile, but ended up taking a bite out of air as his grassy opponent escaped again.

Sceptile, facing Arcainine head-on, decided to retaliate. He raised one knee up fast, and connected with the bottom of Arcainine's chin. He pushed forward, and Arcainine's head rose high up into the air. This exposed his neck. Sceptile shifted his weight to the side, then opened his leg, Previously hovering in the air, Sceptile's leg sprang open and kicked right into Arcainine's throat.

"GAAKK!" Blurted out Arcainine as he felt his windpipe being temporarily crushed. He back up as fast as he could, and lowered his head, protecting his neck. He looked back up at his opponent, and saw that Sceptile was not going to give him a moment of rest. A flurry of razor leaves came hurtling towards him, each one glistening with razor-sharp edges. Unable to dodge, Arcainine fired a blast of flamethrower from his mouth, and incinerated the leaves before they could hit him. The strain of spewing fire from his mouth aggravated his sore neck, however, and caused his to recoil in pain. He backed up again, trying to get distance between himself and Sceptile. Once the flames had cleared he looked up, expecting to see another flurry or razor leaves. Instead, however, he saw Sceptile flanked by his two allies; Exeggutor and Grovyle. The three of them stood side by side, with Sceptile in the middle.

Arcainine eyed them cautiously, then stood back up as tall as he could. "Hah. You three must think you're pretty damn cool, don't you!" He snarled.

_We are!_ Thought Grovyle.

Instead of saying that, though, Sceptile instead launched into a tirade. "As you can see, you are completely outnumbered. Magmortar has abandoned you, ran away like a little Skitty that has stubbed her toe. Ninetales has fallen, knocked unconscious by the devastating psychic attacks even you cannot withstand. And Growlithe, in his infinite rage, has fallen to us. Your team is finished Arcainine, and if you had any sense, you would surrender now."

Arcainine snarled quietly as he heard about the failures his team experienced. He backed up again, trying to gain more distance. "Pathetic! It just goes to show that everyone you put trust in will end up letting you down. I have no respect for that gang of losers! And truly the only people I am disappointed in are you three, for not having the guts to actually kill any of them!"

Sceptile shot him a dirty look. "You make me sick."

Arcainine raised his head proudly. "Good."

Sceptile, having head enough, ran forward to meet his foe. Exeggutor followed close behind, prepared to provide tactical support. Grovyle realized that he was needed, so he ran forward as well. Arcainine braced himself, charged up a flamethrower, then let loose the flames. They came billowing forward in a wide arc, covering a lot of ground horizontally, but not making it very far outwards. Sceptile had to sidestep left in order to miss them, but Exeggutor and Grovyle were still far enough away to be untouched.

Grovyle saw the flames begin to clear, and Arcainine materialize behind them. His attention was focused on Sceptile, who was now approaching from the left. Grovyle saw this as a perfect opportunity, and went in for an attack. He slashed forward with his clawed hand, striking Arcainine on the side.

"GRRRR!" said Arcainine as he felt the small claws scratch his skin. He spun around and threw himself at Grovyle, using his shoulder as a battering ram. Grovyle was hit by the attack, and was pushed back about a foot by it. Arcainine recovered, and turned to face Grovyle, he opened his mouth wide, ready to use a fire fang attack, but was suddenly knocked to the ground by a wall of psychic energy. Exeggutor strode steadily forward, firing wave after wave of psyshocks at Arcainine. Arcainine tried to stand up, but felt his head being pushed into the ground beneath someone's foot. It was Sceptile.

"This is your last chance. Surrender or die." He said

Arcainine coughed loudly, then replied in a nasty tone. "Burn in hell you son of a bitch!"

Sceptile pushed his foot down harder, and smiled. "Part of me was hoping you would say that."

_Is he going to kill Arcainine?_

Sceptile raised his foot off of Arcainine's face. The fiery dog lied still for a moment, then started to pick himself back up. He put one paw on the ground, and had just begun to push himself up when he was shoved back down to the ground. Sceptile kicked as hard as he could into the ribs of Arcainine, not only knocking the air out of him, but also pinning him to the ground again.

"OOOMMPH!" heaved Arcainine.

Sceptile raised his foot again, then came crashing back down on Arcainine's face. _"_Stay down." He said with a cold sneer.

Arcainine snarled quietly and coughed. There was nothing he could do.

Grovyle watched nervously as the events unfolded in front of him. _Whatever you're going to do Sceptile, please hurry up! I can't stand to watch this…_

Sceptile knelt down next to Arcainine, then raised his arm up into the air. It glowed a bright green color, slightly darker than usual, but nonetheless menacing. The arm hovered in the air for a moment, then came down.

…

Just before it touched Arcainine's neck, Sceptile stopped. His arm was frozen, as if unable to move.

Arcainine sneered at him. "What's wrong? *cough!* You can't go through with it? *cough!* *cough!* You're pathetic!"

"Shut up." Said Sceptile.

Just then, a terrible sound erupted all around them.

"SCEPTILE!"

_Oh no! It's him!_

Sceptile stood slowly back up, and turned to face to source of the sound. Exeggutor rushed to his side, and Grovyle followed suit. Together, the three of them stood and watched as a new Pokémon made its way forward.

"Sceptile…." Said the new figure. His body was a mix or red, white, and orange. The pattern was all too familiar for those gathered before him, so no introduction was necessary.

"Blaziken…" said Sceptile.

Blaziken smiled. "It really is you. You know, even after seeing you in The Citadel, then again in the courtyard, I simply couldn't convince myself that it was actually you. After all, I have been 'seeing' you by mistake for an awfully long time now." He began to slowly walk, like a vulture circling its prey.

Sceptile breathed out heavily.

Blaziken continued. "I might be walking along the forest, and suddenly something would catch my eye. I would swear that it had been you, and I might spend days searching to forest to confirm what I thought. Unfortunately, you never turned up, and I simply learned that I was seeing things. How disappointing… I really did miss you."

"So you've grown crazy. It would figure." Said Sceptile.

"Momentarily seeing something that is not there does not make you crazy." Replied Blaziken.

"It does. Especially when you consider how badly you wanted your visions to be true." Shot back Sceptile.

Blaziken smiled widely, and stopped walking. "If that's how you define insanity, then I'm surely not alone here."

"What do you mean."

"You must remember how badly you wanted a certain something to 'be there'. Don't you? Don't you remember how often you saw signs that were not there? Read messages that were never true? And drew conclusions that…. could never be fathomed?" As soon as he said this, Blaziken turned away from Sceptile and started circling again.

_What is he talking about?_ Asked Grovyle. He turned and saw Sceptile clenching his fists tightly. His body appeared to be shaking as well. _Whatever it is, it must be getting Sceptile pissed…_

"The only difference between my situation and yours is that my visions turned out to be true. In the end, here you are, standing before me in the flesh. As for your visions, they were crushed a long time ago… were they not?" Asked Blaziken.

"Shut up!" Demanded Sceptile, now visibly infuriated.

Blaziken looked pleased. "Excellent. Let your anger consume you."

Exeggutor leaned in to Sceptile's ear and began talking. Grovyle could hear as well. "Sceptile now is not the time for this kind of a confrontation the emotionally charged atmosphere is not beneficial and seeing as time is running out for our forces I suggest we make a decision right now as to whether we fight or flee."

Scepitle, never taking his eyes off of Blaziken, responded. "Fighting him is out of the question. We wouldn't stand a chance."

"Then how do you propose we-"

He was interrupted by Blaziken, however. "And you! Exeggutor. It's been a long time for you as well. Granted, I haven't been seeing visions of YOU in the forest, but make no mistake, you have been on my mind quite a lot recently."

Exeggutor did not reply, but instead locked all six of his eyes of Blaziken, watching carefully for any signs of sudden movement.

"You, I never liked. Not at all actually…" he said in a disappointed tone. "Sceptile, perhaps I considered him a friend, but you annoyed me from the start. And you still annoy me now. Do you still have trouble speaking in that creepy-ass voice?"

Exeggutor still did not reply.

Blaziken frowned. "So boring. You really do bore me." Then, he turned his attention to the final member of the trio; Grovyle. "And who the hell is this? Have you two elected a new little trainee? That's really cute."

Grovyle was shaking with fear. For some reason, every time he looked at Blaziken, he felt a cold sensation in his spine. Almost familiar…

"Where did you find this one? Was he given to you, or did you snatch him up from some sob story of an orphanage?"

"SHUT UP!" Yelled Sceptile, surprising everyone who was present. "You shut the hell up! And you stay the hell away from him! DO YOU UNDERSTAND?!"

Blaziken looked shocked. "Oh. Clearly I hit a nerve there… You must have some kind of feelings for this pathetic little Grovyle." He looked at Sceptile, then down at Grovyle again. "He… He's not your son. Is he?"

Sceptile tensed up and looked as if he was about to scream his head off, but was stopped by Exeggutor, who stepped in front of him, and cut him off. "Dare you possess the audacity to ask such things?"

Blaziken started to get mad. "Of course I have the audacity. I have the audacity to do whatever the hell I want! And as for the Grovyle, clearly there is something that I am not aware of. Both of you are acting awfully strange in regards to him, and I'd like to know what the hell is going on! SCEPTILE! Is he your son or not!"

"No! He is not my father." Said Grovyle, surprised to hear himself speak. All eyes turned to him. "My father was a Sceptile, but he is not this one. My father died many years ago, struck down while I was still in my egg. His memory may be faint in my mind, but he lives on as a hero in my heart."

Blaziken frowned again. "Cute."

Sceptile's face was white.

Exeggutor did not move.

For a moment, everyone was silent. Finally Blaziken spoke. "Well, I suppose I was wrong. This Grovyle is nothing more than as waste of skin, which I will inevitably burn down in a few minutes."

Grovyle nervously looked at Blaziken, his brief moment of bravery erased. _Why does everyone care about my father? He died so long ago I can't even remember him… And why did Sceptile get so mad when Blaziken asked about him? And what the hell kind of history do those three have!? It's like they've known each other forever._

"Okay. That's enough talking. I'm sick of hearing you speak, and I have decided the time has come for you to die. All of you." At this, Blaziken's wrists burst to flames.

Exeggutor, for the first time Grovyle had seen, looked panicked. He leaned in again and tried to formulate a plan. "Sceptile we need to start running if we want to escape the situation without confronting Blaziken head-on."

Sceptile was silent for a moment, then spoke. "No. I'm not running. We are going to fight. And I am not going to stop until one of us is dead."

…

"Did you hear that Blaziken?!" shouted Sceptile.

Blaziken cocked his head to the side. "What?"

"I said; I am going to fight you. And I am not going to stop until one of us is dead."

Blaziken smiled. "Excellent. I wouldn't want it any other way."

Then he stopped circling, and eyed his targets. Sceptile stood in the center, flanked on his right by Exeggutor, and on his left by Grovyle. All three of them were showing signs of injuries, as well as battle fatigue. Blaziken knew he was in perfect physical condition.

Finally, Sceptile charged forward. He pulled back and prepared to throw a punch. Blaziken anticipated the moved easily, and simply sidestepped out of the way. Sceptile's momentum carried him past Blaziken several feet. Next was Exeggutor, who fired a volley of bullet seeds at his opponent. Blaziken exhaled and fired a stream of flamethrower, which incinerated all the seeds in a second.

"Is that all you can do? Punches and a couple seeds? You disappoint me, grass types." Taunted Blaziken.

Grovyle approached, slowly, with his arms raised. He had seen how easily Sceptile's attack was dodged, so he decided to be a bit more deliberate in his attempt. Blaziken saw him, and turned to face his foe. Grovyle continued to step slowly forward, prepared to strike at any time. Finally he decided to make his move. He fired a quick jab at Blaziken's head. He dodged easily. Grovyle pulled back his hand, and jabbed again. Blaziken dodged again. He pulled back that hand and decided to try an uppercut. Instead of dodging this, Blaziken stood his ground. He put his hand in front of himself, with his palms facing down. Grovyle's fist came up from bellow, and collided with Blaziken's open palms. They shook slightly from the impact, but otherwise stayed put. Blaziken closed his hands, and dug his claws into Grovyle's leafy skin.

"OWW!" exclained Grovyle.

Blaziken, now holding Grovyle's fist, pulled it in. Grovyle was pulled as well, and he lost his balance. Grovyle began to fall forward, but before he could fall into Blaziken, he felt something crash into his forehead. It was Blaziken's head. He had thrown his head back and used it as a hammer, colliding with Grovyle's forehead and causing serious damage. Blaziken released Grovyle's hands, and Grovyle felt himself fall backwards, thrown from the force of the head-butt.

Grovyle stumbled backwards, and fell to the ground. His head was throbbing with pain. Now not only his cheek hurt, but his forehead as well. From his vantage point on the ground. He saw the fight continue.

Sceptile returned, and was using his leafy arm in a leaf blade attack. His arm glowed green, and his slashes were fast. Blaziken was unfazed as he backed up and systematically dodged each of the swipes. Sceptile sliced to the right, and Blaziken dodged left. Sceptile sliced to the right, and Blaziken dodged left. Sceptile swiped with both arms at once, and Blaziken merely ducked. Finally Sceptile stopped. Blaziken stood for a moment, then retaliated. He shifted his weight to one leg, then lifted his other into the air. His left leg was supporting him, and his right leg was up in the air, bent at the knee. Then he extended his leg forward, and kicked with all his might. His foot hit Sceptile in the side, who was unable to dodge or block. The force of the kick sent him flying across the battlefield, where he landed in a heap on the ground.

Exeggutor approached now, and entered with a powerful wood hammer move. He threw his entire body in the air at Blaziken, who still had his back turned. Exeggutor was in the air, preparing for a body-slam like attack, when Blaziken turned around. Never missing a beat, he dropped to the ground, lowering himself enough that he actually ducked underneath the flying form of Exeggutor. Exeggutor sailed forward, and crashed down on the ground. Blaziken stood back up, and raised his foot into the air. He pointed his leg straight up, then brought it crashing down onto Exeggutor, who lied on the ground, recovering from his missed wood hammer.

Exeggutor groaned three times in pain. Blaziken, meanwhile, was looking perfectly fine.

"Come on now! You three are boring the hell out of me! Sceptile, your attacks are unplanned and completely haphazard. Exeggutor, your weight makes you move slower than a grounded Wailord. And Grovyle, you simply don't have the guts to make a decent advance!"

_Hes right._ Thought Grovyle. _We aren't working as a team at all! The entire point of working as a team is so that we can cover each other's weak aspects, so when we all attack him separately its no surprise that he can pick us off like this._ Grovyle stood back up, and looked to his allies. Sceptile stood several feet away, breathing heavily. Exeggutor was trying to stand back up, but Blaziken was holding him down with his foot. Exeggutor squirmed violently, and finally was released. He rolled away from Blaziken, and stood back up. Now, the three grass types stood in a circle around Blaziken, closing him in. They exchanged looks, as if trying to form a strategy.

_Clearly none of us can take Blaziken alone. He's just too good of a fighter. That's why we need to coordinate our attacks, like we did on Arcainine! _

"Please. Form some kind of a plan. Attacking me one at a time is just pathetic." Said Blaziken.

Sceptile looked at Grovyle, then nodded. The time had come. Exeggutor fired a wave of psyshock, which was dodged by Blaziken. As he dodged, Grovyle and Sceptile dashed forward, trying to catch their opponent off-guard. Blaziken, in the middle of a juke, lifted his leg up, and performed a roundhouse kick. It was directed at Sceptile, who dodged by ducking beneath it. Now Blaziken was exposed, and Grovyle took the opportunity to slash at him with leaf blade. Blaziken anticipated the move, however, and surprisingly was able to dodge. He did this by finishing his roundhouse kick in a strange way. Once his foot made a full rotation, he kept spinning and lowered it to the ground, once it was planted firmly, he shifted his weight and lifted up his other foot. This allowed him to rotate even further and safely escape from Grovyle's attack. Once he was out of range, he put his other foot down and reassumed his stance.

Sceptile used the razor leaves attack. Blaziken was too close to incinerate them, so he raised his arms in an "X" position, and tucked in his head. The leaves hit him, but did very little damage, keeping in mind the type disadvantage. Blaziken reopened his arms once the leaves were done, and fired a spray of flamethrower. It was very wide angled, and clearly intended as a buffer. The flames formed a wide arc, and forced Grovyle to stop a charge he had been attempting. The flames lingered, and appeared like they would linger for longer, until Exeggutor attacked. He fired a leaf storm attack, which whipped up a powerful wind that blew away almost all the flames. The powerful tornado-like storm of leaves continued to blow away the fire, and finally disappeared once it had dispersed any remaining fire.

Grovyle and Sceptile now stood side by side, facing Blaziken head on. They pushed forward at the same time, and diverged slightly, so that they each stood on one side of him. Blaziken's eyes darted back and forth between the two of them, trying to watch their movements. Finally Sceptile attacked through a quick jab. Blaziken leaned back and dodged it. Grovyle took the opportunity, and kicked with his back leg. His leg came up behind Blaziken, attempting to hit him in the back. But Blaziken anticipated the move, and hopped forward in a clumsy sort of dodge. Sceptile attacked now, almost as if he was taking turns with Grovyle. He jabbed quickly again, right at Blaziken's shoulder. Blaziken was in no position to dodge, so while he corrected his awkward body position, he had to threw up his arm and used his wrist to block the attack. Sceptile jabbed again, but now, having corrected himself, Blaziken was in a better position to counter. He threw up his other hand, and blocked the attack, He did not take it straight on, however, but instead guided the punch away from him. This gave Grovyle a chance to attack, so he took the opportunity, he swept again with leaf blade. Blaziken, still blocking Sceptile's punch, used his opponent's momentum to carry him in a circle. He carried Sceptile around him, and right into the path of Grovyle. At the last second, Grovyle was able to identify Blaziken's move, and stopped his attack just in time, before it slammed into his ally. Blaziken was not done, however, and continued to use Sceptile's body as a weapon. He pushed into Sceptile's chest, and threw him into Grovyle. Grovyle could not dodge, so he stood helpless as Sceptile fell into him. The two fell to the ground, and landed in a pile on the ground.

Blaziken came forward, and was about to use flamethrower on the two of them, but was interrupted by Exeggutor. The leaves on top of his head glowed purple as he prepared a power whip attack. Blaziken saw it coming, and backed away, just out of range. Exeggutor's whip flew harmlessly past his fiery foe. Blaziken retaliated by raising his foot again, and attempted to kick. The kick was performed with Blaziken's left leg, so to Exeggutor, the attack came from the right. He was too slow for a dodge, so he pulled out one of his secret moves; spiky shield. Exeggutor's whole body turned rigid, and small spikes protruded from his skin. Blaziken's foot connected, and immediately flew back in pain. The expression on Blaziken's face was that of surprised anger. He brought back his leg, and put it down on the ground, then raised his arms, and prepared to fight back again. His fist began to glow with fire, and he prepared to use a fire punch move. Exeggutor had no escape, and was unable to use his spiky shield more than once in rapid succession for fear of failure, so for the time being, he just stood his ground. Before Blaziken could hit him, though, Grovyle and Sceptile returned to the fight. Grovyle fired a volley of razor leaves in front of Blaziken, and forced him to halt his attack. Next Sceptile threw himself at Blaziken and attempted to use the take down move on him. Blaziken decided not to dodge, but instead take the attack head-on. He opened his arms and caught Sceptile, then fell to the ground. Instead of being pinned down, though, Blaziken used Sceptile's momentum to do a somersault and end up on top. Now, Blaziken was on top of Sceptile, who was pinned to the ground.

Sceptile brought up his arms in a block, and was immediately met with a flurry of punches. He was able to block almost all of them, but still sustained some damage. Finally, Blaziken got off of Sceptile, and stood back up. He did that because Grovyle was approaching him, ready to attack. Once Blaziken had backed a few feet away, Sceptile climbed back up to a standing position. Exeggutor ran up next to them. Together, Sceptile, Grovyle, and Exeggutor stood, facing Blaziken, who was only about four yards away. The fight momentarily paused as both sides recovered.

Sceptile was the first to speak. "You're slowing down, old friend. Is there a problem?"

Blaziken replied quickly. "Don't kid yourself. The only reason that you three are alive right now is because I've been holding back. Didn't it strike you as strange, how I only dodged and blocked your attacks, never returning fire?"

Sceptile smiled. "I had assumed it was because you were starting to break under a little pressure."

Blaziken smiled right back at him. "You assume too much. I purposely held back because I wanted to see what you three were capable of. My research has proven to me that you really aren't capable of anything at all! Anyway, now that I've had my fun, it's time for me to start trying don't you think?"

Sceptile hesitated, and then raised his arms in a fighting stance.

Grovyle was getting nervous. _He's right… I did notice him dodging a lot more than attacking. Maybe he was holding back._

"No clever response?" asked Blaziken. "Fine by me. You probably would prefer your famous last words to be a bit more serious anyway." With that, his wrists and legs burst into flames, and he charged.

He ran forward three steps, then jumped in the air, and outstretched his leg. The attack was directed at Sceptile, who was able to dodge. Once Blaziken had landed, he began his attack. Sceptile slashed with leaf blade. Blaziken spun around and performed a roundhouse kick that connected with Sceptile's leaf blade, knocking it out of the air. Sceptile's arm wavered, and threw him off balance, Sceptile was now exposed, so Blaziken followed up with a fire punch. His speed was incredible. The punch collided with Sceptile's upper body, and sent him flying backwards, where he fell to the ground. Blaziken watched his opponent fall, then returned to his fighting stance, all the while laughing.

"Hah! Too easy." He gloated. "WHOS NEXT?!"

Grovyle approached, now flanked by Exeggutor. Exeggutor fired a volley of bullet seeds, attempting to provide Grovyle with cover. Blaziken responded by firing a flame thrower into the mass of seeds, and incinerating them all. Grovyle used the opportunity to punch at Blaziken, but missed as Blaziken dodged out of the way. Blaziken then spun around and tried to punch back. Grovyle saw the move coming, and ducked low enough to dodge. Blaziken smiled, as if he had been planning this all along. He brought up his leg, and kneed Grovyle in the face with a quick knee jab. The hit forced Grovyle to stand up, exposing him to a follow-up attack. Blaziken already had his leg in the air by the time Grovyle stood up, engulfed in flames, and moving fast. It was a roundhouse blaze kick, and it was aimed at Grovyle's face. Not just his face in general, but his cheek specifically.

During the preliminary fight, Blaziken had noticed the cheek injury that Grovyle received while he was fighting Magmortar, and decided to capitalize on it. He quickly set up the poor little grass type for a powerful kick, one that would most likely end his life.

Thus, Blaziken manipulated Grovyle in a way that would allow him to kick him square in the cheek with a full force blaze kick. This was no ordinary blaze kick, in fact, but a supercharged one. Blaziken had plenty of time for a windup, so he spared no expense in making sure that it was powerful. His leg came whizzing along, approaching Grovyle's face at breakneck speed. Moments before impact, Grovyle realized what was about to happen. He saw the foot coming at him, he felt the heat of the fire on his face, then shuddered.

_Nobody's that good… nobody…_

…

The blaze kick made contact with shattering force.

Grovyle felt his cheekbone shatter again. The pain that he experienced as soon as Blaziken made contact was indescribable. Every nerve in his body screamed in pain, a scream so loud that Grovyle felt himself go deaf. In his cheek, he felt an incredible searing hot pain, then nothing. It was as if Blaziken's kick had actually killed the nerves themselves in his cheek. Just before he went deaf, he heard the crackling of his cheekbone as the pieces of it were crunched around and dug into his flesh. The broken bone in his cheek was not all the damage that was done, however, because he also felt his chinbone fracture from the sheer force of the collision. In addition, his upper skull fractured, causing yet more pain to stream up his face. The teeth just behind the point of impact shattered as well, and several of them were knocked out.

All this took place over the course of one second. Finally, Blaziken's foot relented, and removed itself from Grovyle's face. Grovyle felt himself lose feeling in all parts of his body, and go completely numb in the face. He started to crumple to the ground, and as he fell, his vision began to fade. First, just the corners of his sight turned a fuzzy black, but soon, he was seeing double of everything around him. Plus, everything turned slightly black as blood began to rush from his eyes. Just then, he felt himself hit the ground. He landed on the side of his face that had not been destroyed, but it hurt nonetheless. He lied there for a moment; experiencing pain beyond anything he thought could ever be felt.

_Oh God…. Oh God oh God oh God…_

The world around him was spinning, a mess of colors and shapes moving in all directions. His ears had ceased to work, and now the only thing he heard was the deafening silence of his own excruciating pain. In vain, he attempted to gain his bearings, but was unable to see anything around him. He rolled over and felt his stomach on the ground beneath him. Now aware of where the ground was, he used his arms to push himself up. He was able to get his hands down on the ground in front of him, but when he started to push up, he realized just how weak his arms had become. There was no way he could possibly push himself up after a hit like that. He just had to lie still.

So for the time being, he rolled his head to the side, and tried to make out what was happening around him. This was very difficult, considering he could barely see anything at all. What he did manage to see, however, was the outlines of the Pokémon brawling above. He saw the slim outline of Blaziken, fiery red and moving fast. He appeared to be fighting with Exeggutor, who, in Grovyle's eyes, was nothing more than a brown blur. The two fought briefly, then Grovyle saw Exeggutor fall to the ground. Blaziken appeared to look down at him, then walk away. Walk away… right in his direction!

Blaziken approached, his figure distorted and blurry in the eyes of Grovyle. He stopped when he got within a few feet of Grovyle, and appeared to kneel down. Grovyle was still too weak to pick his head up, but Blaziken was close enough, and on the same level as him too. Blaziken looked into his eyes, and squinted. Then he began speaking. Up until this point, Grovyle had been completely deaf, but as soon as Blaziken spoke, his hearing started to clear up. It was not perfect, but he was able to make out a few words.

"…so…loook…..hhhhit…..and…still...alivvvvve? ...yes." he said. Grovyle saw him tilt his head to the side, and continue speaking. "Well…..…must…hurttttt? ...luck…for….weeeeeak… hah! But…. cantttttt… go…let….livvvvvvve….. can…we?" At this, Blaziken stood back up. He raised his foot into the air, and Grovyle watched helplessly as it burst into flame.

_Oh god…. I'm going to die here. Right here on the ground. I… I'm actually going to die…._

Blaziken seemed to hesitate all of a sudden. "Now….looook….. farmiliaaaaar….? Almost…. I-" but he suddenly stopped talking and jerked his head to the right. It looked like he had seen something that surprised him. With lightning fast reflexes, he brought his foot to the ground and brought up his arms in a block. He turned his body to the right, and was slammed by a large brown and green mess.

_What…?_

The mess of vines and dirt completely caught him off-guard, and although Blaziken had a moment to prepare a block, it was not nearly enough to protect him fully. The frenzy plant attack engulfed him, and brought him crashing to the ground. Vines strung around his limbs, and covered him in a huge pile of vegetation several feet thick. Grovyle watched in shock as Blaziken squirmed about beneath the pile, but was unable to free himself. He was having difficulty processing any of this.

Suddenly, Sceptile appeared. He knelt down in front of Grovyle, and looked him over. He was breathing heavily, as if he had just performed some sort of attack. It was then that Grovyle realized that Sceptile had been the one who took down Blaziken in the frenzy plant.

"Exeggutor! Come…..onnnnnn…..pick...fast! ….alivvvvvvve!" shouted Sceptile. Soon, Exeggutor appeared at his side, and Grovyle felt something scoop him up from below. It was Sceptile, who picked up Grovyle and lifted him into the air. Grovyle still felt like he was in a daze, unable to make out any characteristics of things around him. All he saw was a tangled bunch of green leaves circling him as he was laid down on Exeggutor's head. When Sceptile's arms left him, he felt as if he was floating on air, but soon he realized he was being supported by Exeggutor. The big Pokémon was large enough to support his weight, and was doing a fine job of it as well. Grovyle tried to roll over, but instead felt Sceptile's hands push him back in place.

"Stay…..stttttttilllll…." he said. Grovyle got the message, and decided to stop moving around.

Then, suddenly, he felt himself flying. Immediately he began panicking, and thrashing about. Once again, Sceptile calmed him, and got him to lie still.

"Jusssssssst….. walking! Stay…as…..areeeeeee…." he said. Grovyle relished the comforting sound of Scepitle's voice, and tried to remain still. He tilted his head to the side, and tried to take in his surroundings. He saw the field of battle fly past him, and it was then that he realized Exeggutor was simply running.

_He….. he's carrying me away…_

More colors and shapes flew by in Groyvle's eyes as he tried desperately to stay conscious. After what seemed like an eternity of running, a large green blob entered his vision.

_It's the outer wall! We're going to escape from here!_

Exeggutor carried him inside, and instantly the atmosphere turned dark. The burning trees of the courtyard were no longer present, causing almost all light to disappear. The glowing flowers that usually illuminated these hallways had all but died, so for the time being, the trio was running blind. Luckily, Exeggutor and Sceptile seemed to know where they were going, and they continued on at a fast pace. All around him, Grovyle saw darkness, and heard nothing. The only thing that assured him he was still alive was the immense throbbing of pain he felt all over his body.

_Even if we do make it out of here... I don't think I'm going to survive these injuries…_

All sense of time and direction had left him, so Grovyle had no idea how long they had been running. Finally, Exeggutor seemed to stop. He heart faint noises like the sound of a door opening, then the trio began moving again. They ran forward a bit, then stopped abruptly.

_What happened? Why did Exeggutor stop?_

Just then, Grovyle heard a voice that he had been hoping and praying he would never have to hear again.

…

"GET BACK HERE!"

…

Grovyle felt himself being lowered to the ground. Exeggutor was putting him down. He was laying face-down, but slowly, Grovyle started to roll himself over. Although the pain in his body had not gone down in intensity, he could feel himself regaining some control over his body. After a brief struggle, he was able to turn himself over and face the source of the voice. Just as he had feared, it was Blaziken. And, running up along behind him, was Arcainine.

"…FIRES…..HELL…..WITH…YOU!" he said. Blaziken burned brightly, so much so that he was able to light the entire room by himself. Grovyle took the opportunity to look around, and realized that he was lying inside the room where he had first witnessed the fire types enter. A few feet away was a massive scorched hole in the wall, the very one that Magmortar had blown open along with help from Arcainine.

On the fair side of the room, Grovyle saw a small burnt pile. It was mostly black, but some areas of green could be seen, which led Grovyle to assume that he was looking at a pile of vines. Although his vision was very blurry, he was also able to make out small patches of white and red in the pile. Black ashes were scattered around it too, and lightly layered on top. Groyvle continued to look at this strange object in the corner, as if he were drawn to it for some reason.

_What is that...? _He wondered.

Then like a slap across the face, Grovyle realized what he was looking at. The realization hit him so fast and hard that he nearly fainted from shock.

_Carnivine!_

And spontaneously, he felt a rush of power overtake him. Whether it was adrenaline, a psychic energy, or just sheer hatred did not matter to Grovyle, all he knew was that something had begun to overtake him. It flowed through his veins, reaching every inch of his body, empowering him and raising him up with the energy of a madman. Groyvle's vision went completely black. Then, all at once, he could see perfectly clear. He realized that he was now standing on his two feet, supported by a willpower that he almost classified as not his own. All pain left his body, and with it went his sense of feeling in general. He could feel nothing around him, not fatigue, not pressure, not anything.

All Grovyle knew was that he was back on his feet, and back in the game. He looked around in a flurry, trying to take in as much of his surroundings as he could. To his right, he saw Sceptile and Exeggutor engaging Blaziken and Arcainine.

Blaziken kicked furiously, whizzing fiery hits around Sceptiles head. It was obvious that he was holding nothing back in these kicks, intending for each one to be a kill shot. Sceptile, however, was dodging each one with lightning fast reflexes. After several misses, Blaziken put down his foot and leaned in for a punch. Grovyle deflected the punch with his elbow, and returned with a punch of his own. Blaziken used his other hand to catch Sceptile's fist just before it made contact. He squeezed hard, causing a small popping sound to be heard out loud. Sceptile threw his head back and screamed in pain. Blaziken did not relent, however, but instead followed up his attack by pulling on Sceptile's arm and causing him to fall to the ground.

"Sceptile no!" yelled Grovyle as he ran as fast as he could towards his fallen friend.

Blaziken heard Grovyle, and turned to face him. "Oh. Look who's finally woken up. You know kid, I really thought I had killed you back there, but guess I was wrong."

"Get away from him!" Screamed Grovyle.

"Hah! Do you really think a little shit like you can stop me!?" replied Blaziken. As he said this, he formed his hand into a fist, which began to glow with fire.

Grovyle threw himself at Blaziken in a takedown move. Blaziken, not even breaking a sweat, brought forward his hand and slugged Grovyle in the stomach.

"OOOOPHH!" heaved Grovyle as he felt the air leave his lungs. He crumpled to the ground, and looked up to see Blaziken walking away from him.

"Stop squirming. I'll be back to finish you in a second, but first I have someone much more important to deal with." He stopped walking when he reached Sceptile, who was now standing up and supporting himself against a wall behind him. "It's time for you to die, Sceptile. Once and for all."

Grovyle heard a loud thud, and looked over to see Exeggutor get thrown to the ground. Arcainine stood over him, a proud look on his face, and fire flowing from his mane. Instead of delivering the final blow, he pranced over to Blaziken, and stood next to him, evidently wanting to watch Sceptile as he died.

"Please Blaziken, make it as painful as it can be!" he said.

Blaziken did not respond, but clenched his fist tightly.

Sceptile raised his good hand, the one that had not been broken, up in a fighting stance. Blaziken seemed to scoff, and playfully knock the hand out of the way. With his other clawed hand, Blaziken thrust forward and grabbed Sceptile around the neck. Sceptile flailed about, trying to break free. But it was no use, for Blaziken's grip was far too strong. He then used his powerful muscles to lift Sceptile up off the ground and into the air.

"Killing you has been the only thing on my mind for the past decade. Nothing in the world could ever hope to repair the damage you caused me all those years ago but your death." Said Blaziken in a voice that simply imbued evil. "What you did to me… What you did to us! It's beyond forgiveness. And now I will make you pay. Not only you, but this entire accursed city. All of you will die. And I will be the one to deliver!"

Arcainine watched intently as Blaziken spoke, his tail wagging slightly, and his chin raised proudly. It was obvious that Blaziken was not the only one who wanted Sceptile dead. Meanwhile, Grovyle lay completely helpless, trying to breathe again after losing all air in his lungs. The rush of power that had overcome him was still present, but its effects had begun to wear down. Exeggutor was only a couple yards away, trying to stand back up after being leveled by some fiery attack on Arcainine's part.

_He's going to kill Sceptile! _Worried Grovyle. _We were so god damn close! SO GOD DAMN CLOSE! And now he's going to kill the Pokémon that helped me survive this horrible day….. I can't believe…. I…. I can't…._

"Any last words?" Asked Blaziken. He loosened his grip, and allowed for a little air to enter Sceptile's throat. Sceptile coughed violently, and wheezed for air. Then he calmed down, and tried to look Blaziken in the eyes.

Sceptile's face was distorted, covered in blood, and lightly layered with tears. Finally he opened his mouth. "You did this to yourself… It wasn't me, and it wasn't the grass types. Blaziken, you were my friend, and I wanted nothing more than for us to stay that way…." He coughed hard, a small splatter of blood coming out of his mouth. "You let your anger consume you… Let the very demons you promised to resist contort your emotions and turn you into… into… this."

Blaziken scoffed. "This? This is the only me there is or ever was."

"No its not." answered Sceptile as he tried dearly to hang onto his fleeting life. "You weren't always like this. And I know you've… done things… that may seem unforgivable, but Blaziken I promise to you that I know in my heart of hearts… that it isn't too late for you to change…"

Blaziken squinted, apparently taking what Sceptile said into consideration. His grip never loosened any further, although it did seem for a moment like he might actually release the poor Pokémon he was holding so tightly.

A single large tear slipped down Sceptile's cheek. "Please," he begged. "It's not too late…"

Blaziken let go.

Sceptile fell crashing to the ground, surprised at his sudden release. He took in several gasping breaths, and then picked himself up. He planted his two hands on the ground, then slowly pushed until he was in a kneeling position, supported by his arms. He coughed once more, lightly sprinkling the floor with his blood, then looked up. His face, tattered and tired form the day's battle, seemed like an oasis of hope. He looked up with such conviction and happiness that Grovyle, watching from a few yards away, dared for a moment to think that maybe things were going to be okay after all.

_Sceptile is… going to live…?_

Blaziken was still looking intently at the spot in the air where he had been previously holding Scepitle by the throat. His hand now rested at his side, but other than that, he remained perfectly still, as if deep in thought. He gave off a deep aura of contemplation, one that made everyone in the room hold their breath. Exeggutor, Grovyle, and Sceptile were very surprised at how suddenly he had let go of Sceptile, and were beginning to realize that they were about to be let go. Perhaps, it seems, some of Sceptile's words had gotten through Blaziken's tough outer shell, and touched his heart.

But, in a single instandt, all that hope was completely dashed.

…

…

…

Blaziken raised his foot into the air, and brought it down hard on Sceptile's neck.

CRACK!

…

"NOOO!" screamed Exeggutor. Two of his heads remained perfectly still, a look of sheer shock and terror on their faces. The third one, the middle head, however, was the only one who yelled. It held the 'no' for a long time, then finally closed its mouth, and stared.

Grovyle could not move. He felt his entire body go rigid as the loud crack rang throughout the chamber. It echoed off the walls, bounced down from the ceiling, and reverberated through the floors. It poured through the doors, pounded on Grovyle's body, and dug into his ears. He felt the crack continue to travel through his body, up and down his spine, to the tips of each of his fingers, and then finally into his brain. He lied there, dumbfounded and terrified, at a complete loss for words. Unable to move, he simply stared straight on ahead at the unmoving form of Sceptile, and at the long red leg that held it pressed to the ground.

Arcainine smiled. After a brief moment of confusion upon seeing Sceptile fall to the floor, he felt himself become overwhelmed by adrenaline. He furiously wagged his tail, and let fire emanate from his glowing mane. Proudly tapping his foot, he turned his head to survey the rest of the room. Exeggutor was trying to stand up. Grovyle was frozen in shock, and Blaziken… well, Blaziken just stood there, still as a statue.

Blaziken indeed did stand quite still. He looked down at the lifeless form of his old friend, watching a pool of blood begin to form around his neck. He lifted his foot up, and set it lightly on the ground next to the other one. Where there was once a smooth, green stalk-like neck, now laid a bent, bloody, and broken one. Finally, he opened his mouth. "… That's all. I'm done here." Then he turned to face the door, and walked away.

He had already made it halfway to the door when someone spoke up. It was Grovyle.

"You! You… You can't just leave!" he yelled. But Blaziken just kept walking. He didn't even turn around. "COME BACK! You can't just kill him and walk away!"

Blaziken reached the door, and kept walking straight through it. Once in the hallway, he said something over his shoulder. "Arcainine. Kill these two. I will send a squad to collect the bodies."

Grovyle could not believe what was happening. Blaziken was walking right away from him! Not only did he have the indecency to kill Sceptile, but he didn't even have the respect to stay with the body.

_He's a monster…_

Arcainine approached him, looking excited and ready. "You can either lie still and make this painless, or I can give you a repeat of what Blaziken just did to your friend over there. Your choice." He said.

Grovyle shed a tear. It felt warm as it ran down his face, leaving a single streak of clear, glistening liquid across his already decimated face. The tear stung as it was absorbed by the damaged flesh, but Grovyle did not care. All his emotions were focused on what had just happened. Then, right there, lying on the floor in the destroyed capital city, surrounded by the bodies of his closest friends, facing immeasurable odds and certain death, Grovyle made a promise.

_I will never shed another tear. Not for the rest of my life will I ever let a single tear escape my face. I swear it. This world can try as hard as it wants, but I'll never cry again. Never…_

Now, satisfied with the promise he had just made, Grovyle decided to make another one. A much less pure one….

"I WILL KILL YOU BLAZIKEN!" He screamed. Blaziken, who was walking in the hallways outside, actually stopped in his tracks. "I WILL NEVER REST UNTIL YOU HAVE PAID FOR THE THINGS YOU'VE DONE! NEVER!"

Blaziken did not turn around, but did pause momentarily. He breathed once, long and calmly. Then he responded. "Son, you haven't the faintest idea of what you speak." He said. Then, he continued walking.

Grovyle felt a familiar feeling overcome him; hatred. He hated Blaziken for what he had done to Sceptile, and above that, he hated Blaziken for everything he stood for. He hated the cold cruelty expressed by Blaziken, he hated the sheer power he possessed, he even hated the image of his face. He hated the way he walked, the way he talked, the simple fact that he was even capable of breathing. Grovyle's rage grew more and more, building upon itself, and skyrocketing past the point of reason. The scene of Sceptile's neck breaking played over and over again in his mind in slow motion. Finally, he gave in to the hatred.

He jumped to his feet, possessed with the energy of a madman. He frantically swung his head about, looking for anything he could vent his anger on. His eyes settled almost immediately on the perfect target.

"YOU!" He screamed as he jumped into the air and crashed head-first into Arcainine.

Arcainine was surprised by how fast and viciously Grovyle attacked, so he was completely unable to dodge. At the last second, he tried to raise his claws to deflect the tackle, but was unsuccessful. Grovyle's weight and momentum sent Arcainine crashing to the floor. Grovyle pinned him to the ground on his back, with one of with legs on each side of Arcainine's stomach. Arcainine quickly tried to counter by biting, but was completely shut down by a punch to the face from Grovyle.

Grovyle felt the sting of the first punch as it hit Arcainine's face, and realized he had never felt this way before. He punched again, determined to let his anger out on the dog Pokémon that lay before him. After the third punch, he realized that his anger was only getting stronger, so he decided to try and punch harder. Soon Groyvle began to lose track of what he was doing, and ended up pummeling Arcainine's face again and again and again. Somewhere near the ninth or tenth punch, Grovyle felt a splatter of blood hit his face. His first reaction was that of anger, complete and utter rage at being bleed upon. He responded by simply punching harder and harder.

With each punch, Grovyle felt his rage build even larger. What he had originally decided to try as a means to alleviate his anger had simply amplified it, and taken it to a place he had never been before. Each punch started to blend together as more and more of Arcainine's blood splattered onto his face. Not even pausing to wipe it away, he continued to brutally pummel his opponent. Soon Arcainine's paws were being used to shield his face, but Grovyle did not care. He just kept slugging away. His vision began to turn dark again, a mix of deep crimson red and dark, definite red. All he could see was the bloody remains of Arcainine before him, a sight that normally would have repulsed him instantly. In this case, however, it only made him angrier. Soon he began to see Blaziken's face where Arcainine's had been, smiling, mocking him.

"GAAAAAHHHHHHH! DIE!"

He put both his hand together, and brought them down hard onto Blaziken's face in a powerful smash. Just before they connected, the face disappeared; replaced instead with the pained, bloody expression of Arcainine. Grovyle screamed in anger, thinking that Blaziken had eluded him again. He brought up his arms again, and smashed down once more. This time, he heard the faint sound of bones breaking.

But Grovyle simply did not care.

"DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE DDDDIIIIEEEEE!"

Arcainine, now howling in pain and anguish, tried desperately to protect himself. Every attempt he made, however was swatted away by Grovyle's fists; a force that seemed to grow stronger with each hit. In the far off distance, Grovyle heard someone calling his name, yelling at him to stop. This merely made him angrier, and made him furious that someone was trying to stop him.

He threw himself into Arcainine, using every single part of his body to smash the Pokémon in whatever way he could; fists, elbows, wrists, shoulders, anything that could cause damage. Now Grovyle couldn't see anything at all, other than a mess of red and black colors. His rage had reached its peak, and he pounded down on Arcainine's face as hard as he had ever pounded on anything before. More blood splattered across his face and body, and the soft sound of crunching bones greeted his fists upon every hit. Arcainine continued to howl in pain, begging and screaming for mercy. These cries fell onto deaf ears, however, because Grovyle had no intention of stopping.

Finally, Arcainine began to quiet down. His howls turned to whimpers, and his paws fell limp at his side. Whatever was left of his eyes were closed, and whatever was left of his mouth finally shut. Grovyle, still consumed with anger, refused to stop. He punched harder and harder, unable to make himself do any more damage than he already had. Once again, he heard someone shouting at him to stop, closer this time. He tried to ignore it, but suddenly felt himself flying through the air. He crashed into a wall on the near side of the room, and slumped to the floor. He looked up, expecting, hoping, to see Blaziken, but only saw Exeggutor.

"EXEGGUTOR! WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU!?" he screamed.

Exeggutor , also breathing heavily, responded with the same conviction. "WHAT HAS GOTTEN INTO YOU!?" he yelled, all three heads screaming at the top of their lungs. "YOU JUST KILLED HIM! YOU DIDN'T NEED TO KILL HIM! AND YOU DIDN'T NEED TO MUTILATE HIS GOD DAMN BODY!"

Grovyle felt the anger start to leave his body.

_I did what…?_

"YOU KILLED HIM! You killed him!" yelled Exeggutor.

_I…. killed him…? Killed who? Arcainine…? Oh God no…._

"JUST LOOK AT WHAT YOU DID TO HIM! IT WAS COMPLETELY UNCALLED FOR!"

Grovyle looked to where Exeggutor motioned, and almost threw up. Arcianine lay on the ground, sprawled out onto his back, soaked in blood, and not moving at all. His paws were broken and twisted, evidently torn apart by some violent force. His neck was snapped, broken at the base and pouring blood. But worst of all was his face. Arcainine's face was completely unrecognizable; simply a torn and twisted mess of flesh and bones. The entire area was covered in blood, and broken bones lay scattered about. His head was twisted awkwardly to the side, and the entire inside of his brain was exposed. Grovyle looked for another second, and then actually vomited.

Exeggutor watched carefully, heaving and trying to control his own anger at what just took place. He looked down at Grovyle, throwing up onto the floor, and felt nothing but pity. Then he decided he needed to calm down, and focus on the present, not the past.

Grovyle, meanwhile, was a complete emotional wreck. He finished vomiting, and tried to wipe his mouth clean, when he started to wipe his arm across, he felt his face only get wetter. He looked down to see his arms completely soaked in blood. The blood covered his arms up to the elbows, and remained spotty from there. He looked down to his stomach and saw that covered with blood as well.

_Oh god… What the hell is wrong with me!? I just killed him!_

Exeggutor watched him intently, looking angrier than Groyvle had ever seen him. Slowly, however, his expressions began to disappear as his three faces controls their emotions. Once all three of them had calmed down enough, he took a long breath.

"Sigh….." he said. "Grovyle."

Grovyle looked up, holding his hands out in front of him. He was staring at his hands, trying to comprehend the bloody sight that was before him. When Exeggutor called his name, he looked up and stared with his mouth hanging open, unable to speak.

Exeggutor paused, then started talking in his usual fashion. "Grovyle what has conspired here is of a nature that truly is despicable I do not intend to imply that you are directly responsible for this but the time for confusion has left us and now we must come to grips with what has really happened."

Grovyle, almost relieved to hear Exeggutor talking "normally" again, was still at a loss for words. He did manage to spit out a few, however. "I… killed him…?"

"Yes Grovyle you did kill him and although it was extremely violently I do not believe that it was unnecessary at all especially if we consider our primary goal here as attempting an escape speaking of which if we hope to escape from here with our lives then we must leave right this instant Blaziken said that reinforcements would be on their way soon and we are in no condition to be doing any more fighting today agreed?"

Grovyle felt a surge of anger as he heard Blaziken's name out loud.

_NO! I need to calm down! I just let my anger take control of me, and then this happened… I can't let myself do that again._

Exeggutor looked at him as if he was expecting a response.

But Groyvle's head simply began to spin. _We need to get out of here… We need to go now…_ He tried to stand up, but felt himself go limp. The feelings of adrenaline and power he had previously experienced had completely abandoned him. All his fatigue from the day was finally catching up with him.

"Come here and climb onto my head if you are too weak to walk yourself I do not mind carrying you if it means securing your safety and our escape." Said Exeggutor as he hurried over to Grovyle's side.

Grovyle managed to get up onto one leg, and decided he was well enough to walk. He held up his hand in a motion that told Exeggutor to stop.

"Its fine… I can walk." As he said this, he felt a surge of blood rush from his head. He started to feel faint, and his vision turned black. His ears fell deaf as well. Then, he felt himself lose control over his body, and he fell to the ground. Finally, almost mercifully, he blacked out.

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_Where…am…I…?_

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Groyvle's eyes opened. He looked around, and saw nothing but green. After a second, he realized that he was looking at the leaves on Exeggutor's head once more. He was lying on top of Exeggutor, who was carrying him. He tried to lift his head, but felt completely powerless to do so. He could, however, feel a large wrapping on his face that covered his destroyed cheek. It was tightly strung, but made with cheap materials like leaves and vines. The wrapping circled his entire face, and covered it almost entirely. The only opening was located at Grovyle's mouth, which allowed him to breathe, and his left eye, which allowed him to see. For a moment, he squirmed around.

"Stay still please." Said a voice from somewhere.

Grovyle realized it was Exeggutor, and that he had no choice but to obey. He raised his eye to the sky and saw a large pillar of smoke rising up into the sky. It had to be a few miles tall, and at least ten miles away. A large mountain blocked his view of the source of the smoke, but he knew all too well what it was.

_Home…_

…

He mustered all the energy he had left, and tried to open his mouth. It pained him greatly to do so, but he had a question he simply had to ask. "Where….are…we…going…?" he said.

Exeggutor, still walking, replied. "Anywhere. Anywhere… but here…"

Groyvle thought for a moment, then closed his eyes. He breathed deeply, a motion that caused pain to shoot up his chest. He was tired, too tired to stay awake. Finally, he blacked out again. But just before he fainted, a single thought crossed his mind. It was a sad one, but he knew it was absolutely true.

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_Anywhere but here… that sounds like a fine place to go…_

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**End Chapter Four**

**End Book One: Eviction**

(And that's all folks. Book One: Eviction is finished. I hope that you didn't think that part at the end was too violent or bloody, I just really wanted to illustrate Arcainine's death as vividly as I could. As for Sceptile's death, what did you think about that? Blaziken has to be one of my top three favorite Pokémon, and writing about him has definitely been my favorite part of this story. Book Two: Refuge will be coming out shortly, and expect a lot of changes. First of all, chapter lengths are going to be much shorter. Chapter four was 14,000 words, a new personal record for me, and it's not one I intend to break any time soon. Since the new chapters will be much shorter, you can hopefully expect them to be posted faster and given more detail to. Anyway, this next book is going to follow the same protagonist; Grovyle, as he travels across the land with Exeggutor. The two are in search of refuge from the ravages of their home, so don't expect nearly as many people to die as quickly. Expect a bunch of new characters to appear, of all different types. I am considering a second main character, but I'm still on the drawing board for that one. And finally, expect to see some serious explanations. I raised a lot of questions in book one and I intend to answer all of them throughout book two. Chief amongst those questions in your head is probably; what the hell is the deal with Blaziken and Exeggutor and Sceptile? Did they used to know each other? The answer to that is yes, but I'm not going to tell you the circumstances of their friendship. That's something that you'll just have to wait for. And on that note, I'd like to introduce a new segment to these stories. I really want to see some reviews of the story, so I'm starting up a new segment called Question of the Day. Basically, at the end of every new chapter I post, I'll ask a question about what happened in the story so far. This will be an open ended question, so please bring me your craziest ideas and theories. Believe it or not, crazy is what I'm looking for. Anyway, post your answers in the review, and also throw in your opinion on how my story is going so far. It means a ton to hear what you guys have to say. I don't really care about getting follows or favorites, because that's just a number to me. What really matters to me is hearing actual people's opinions. So, answer the question, and if your answer is the closest one to correct, or if it's just a really cool or funny idea, I'll give a shout-out to you in the AN of my next chapter. Now, let's hear it.  
QOTD: Blaziken, Exeggutor, and Sceptile seem to be hinting at the fact that they used to be quite close to one another. What theories or ideas do you have as to the nature of their old friendship?

So just answer that question in the reviews, and make your voice heard. Also, if you want to tell me that my story sucked, and that it's the worst thing you've ever read, tell me that too. Just tell me something. Thanks!)

-Somestoriesdeservetobetold


	5. Refuge: Prologue

(Hello fans of Pokémon! Or whoever there is out there… truth be told, I don't know who's still reading this. My whole idea of getting people to review has fallen quite flat, so for the time being, I think I'll just lay off on that. If you want to review, then GREAT. And if you don't… eh, so be it. Anyway, this is the beginning of Book Two: Refuge and I decided to start it off with a short prologue. As I promised, these chapters will be much shorter, and hopefully be posted more frequently. This one is only about 8,000 which is short for me. It's about average for most stories posted here, and so I hope to aim for that from now on. This prologue quickly introduces two new characters that will play a big role in the story later on, but will not have much of an effect at the present. I assume you all know them very well, I mean, god knows I do. One of these Pokémon is my #1 favorite Pokémon of all time, followed by Exeggutor as #2, and Blaziken as #3. Just based on the cover picture for this story, I think it's pretty obvious who I'm talking about. Now anyways, please enjoy, review, or ignore. Basically just do what you gotta do.)

**Book Two: Refuge**

**Prologue**

"Arceus!"

The Pokémon flew as fast as it could. Weaving up and down as it convulsed its long body, trying to gain as much momentum as possible. It snaked forward at speeds beyond supersonic, pausing never to brake or change direction. After flying for thirty more seconds, covering in that time approximately fifteen kilometers, the Pokémon slowed down. He began to slow himself down while he was still two kilometers away from his destination, so by the time friction had finally taken hold of him, he would be exactly where he needed to be.

Finally he came to a stop, at his destination. There, floating in space, amongst the vast planes of nothingness, was a palace. It was shaped like a gigantic coliseum, stretching three kilometers across in diameter. The walls each stood one half of a kilometer tall, encircling the entire palace. The Pokémon flew forward, straight into a hole in the side of the wall. The hole was so large that he was able to pass through with ease, never even pausing to admire the grand scale of the structure he was about to enter. Once inside, he flew down a long corridor, and into a grand courtyard.

The courtyard was shaped also like a circle, which made sense, seeing as it was a perfectly scaled down replica of the wall outside. The courtyard fit snuggly inside the walls, and for the most part, it was empty. The only thing inside was an enormous pyramid, that rose one half of a kilometer into the air, and stretched one kilometer across, from corner to corner. Once again, there was a large hole in the side of this pyramid, which was more than big enough for the Pokémon to fly through. He kept going, right on through the hole and into the space inside.

Inside, there was another wide open space. On the inside, he knew, the giant pyramid was actually completely hollow, save for one structure, and the three Pokémon that resided therein. This structure was a lot like the pyramid it was encased in, except for one difference. It was flat on top, which created a sort of plateau feature that ran perfectly smooth over an area equal to one quarter of a kilometer squared. The Pokémon flew further still, heading straight for the middle of the flattened pyramid. He picked up more speed again, and had to remind himself to slow down far in advance, so that he did not end up overshooting his destination and crashing. He looked down to where he was heading, and saw exactly what he was hoping to see; Arceus.

"Arceus!" He called, this time hoping the god Pokémon would respond. As usual, however, it did not. It simply stared straight forward, not even blinking as the giant green snake came to stop in front of him.

"Arceus!" called Rayquaza again. It curled up its body into a coil, and floated lightly before his eyes. Arceus still did not move, but continued to stare straight ahead. Rayquaza was familiar with this behavior, and so he did not act impatient, he simply waited. He waited for five straight minutes before Arceus responded. His eyes closed and opened quickly, as if they had been awoken from some deep slumber. He stopped staring at the spot in the distance, and adjusted his head to face Rayquaza.

"Yes Rayquaza." He said, in a voice so unusual it would be impossible to describe. For the sake of creating a full account, an explanation will be attempted. The sound of his voice reverberated throughout all those who heard it. The words dug into the listener's body, cementing themselves in their brain, making their meaning perfectly clear. It was as if the person listening was not actually hearing the words, but instead receiving sensations that imbued the very essence of each word inside of it. As Rayquaza heard those two simple words; "Yes Rayquaza", he felt their meanings enter his brain and envelop it in ultimate clarity. The sound itself was perfectly executed, as if a whole chamber orchestra were to play the same exact note all at once, in perfect unison. Not a single instrument being off key, and not a single one having the faintest hint of uncertainty. Essentially, his voice was utter clarity. Even this explanation cannot describe the actual sound of his voice, but it is necessary to ensure that you, the receiver of these words, can comprehend the events that happen here.

Rayquaza finished absorbing Arceus's words, then replied with his own. "Arceus, it has happened! I just came from the skies over the grasslands, and I saw the entire thing myself! The grass types have been destroyed!"

Arceus stood silently, taking in every word, but refusing to make any motion that indicated he was interested.

Rayquaza continued, fully aware of Arceus's unimpressed attitude, but never letting go of the excitement he felt himself. "The fire types brought in the ground types, and together they destroyed the capital city! Broke down the walls and burned everyone within! Some of the grass types surrendered, but Arceus, I assure you that I am not exaggerating when I tell you that the population of the grass types has been utterly decimated!"

Arceus still was not interested. He watched Rayquaza, making perfect eye contact, but never seeming to really notice he was there.

"And they killed Virizion!" shouted Rayquaza.

Arceus looked down, already aware of the travesty that had taken place.

"They actually killed her! It was unbelievable! And now, any grass type that hasn't surrendered to the fire types is dead! All of them!" said Rayquaza, with a hint of anger in his voice.

"Not all of them." Arceus said calmly.

Rayquaza was shocked to hear Arceus speak. "What do you mean? I thought they all died!"

"No, Rayquaza, two grass types escaped. One of them was an Exeggutor, and one of them was a Grovyle."

Rayquaza was still at a loss for words. _How could I have missed them? I thought for sure that I had been watching closely enough!_

Arceus continued. "Furthermore Rayquaza, I find the information that you have given me to be highly unnecessary, seeing as I was already aware of it all."

Rayquaza frowned. He had suspected as much.

"This only makes it clearer to me how closely involved you have become with those below." Said Arceus.

"But Arceus!" piped up Rayquaza. "I have not become involved with them! I have merely been observing them! That is all I am doing!"

Arceus looked at him with a skeptical look. Rayquaza hated when Arceus could tell he was lying.

"Rayquaza, I will have no more of your lies in my home. If there is nothing further you would like to share with me, then I suggest you leave."

Rayquaza looked around sheepishly. He had nothing more to say.

Arceus turned his head back to the position it was in before; staring straight ahead into the distance. Then he spoke. "Goodbye."

Rayquaza turned to leave, but before he started flying away, he turned back and asked Arceus the question he had been dying to ask. "Wait, Arceus? That Exeggutor and Grovyle… where are they now?"

Arceus did not open his eyes or look at Rayquaza, but he did seem to have the decency to respond. "The Plains of Sway."

Rayquaza smiled, then thanked Arceus for his information. He turned back towards where he had come from, and lifted up into the air again. He straightened out his body, and slowly began to move forward. It only took him five seconds to reach top speed, which allowed him to rocket away from the mini pyramid, out of the big pyramid, along the courtyard, and back into deep space. Once outside of the palace, he began to think.

_So there were survivors after all…_

He snaked his body more, contorting it and manipulating the space around him to ensure he achieved maximum thrust.

_Arceus doesn't seem to have must faith in them… or interest, for that matter. Then again, he's never interested in anything…_

Far in the distance, thousands of kilometers away, Rayquaza saw the earth appear like a gigantic blue ball floating in the middle of a sea of darkness. He headed straight for it.

_He might not be interested in them, but I am. And what's more, I think I have faith in those two…_

…

_I'm sure that they can do it._

…

(RAYQUAZA! Yep. Rayquaza is my favorite Pokémon of all time. I mean, how could he not be? Just look at him! Anyway, Arceus is pretty cool too so together, I figure they make an interesting pair. The next installment will be a regular chapter, and it will pick up two weeks after the fall of the grass types. It will focus back on Grovyle and Exeggutor, and hopefully will bring about the introduction of another new character. One I hope to make a permanent installment on this story. Until next time, fans of anything.)


End file.
